Gregor and the Warrior's Return
by goatcloud
Summary: Sequel to Prophecy of Paths. Gregor knew there would be another prophecy. He knew he had to be the warrior again. What he does not know is how much help he can be. With almost all the Underland at war, everyone struggles to stay together. Gregor must balance his duty to his family with his duty to Luxa and the Underlanders, all while trying to bring peace to the Underland again.
1. Chapter 1

1

Gregor sat on his bed feeling like he should be packing. He knew he did not need to. He never needed to bring anything with him to the Underland, and even if he did bring something, they would probably just put it in the museum. Still, he knew he would be down there a while, and wanted to take something with him. He decided on a picture of his family, and slipped it into his pants pocket.

It was the first week of May, and because he had no finals during finals week, he decided to head down to Regalia early. Ever since Stellovet and the other traitors had attempted to overthrow those currently in power in the Underland, Gregor had continued returning to the Underland like he had promised Luxa. This, as Gregor had expected, was incredibly difficult to do with school (Gregor promised his mom that he would still do well in his classes). He could occasionally return on a long weekend, but this turned out to be exhausting. He just could not keep it up.

The last time Gregor had returned to the Underland was months ago during semester break. He went by himself (his cousin, Wynnora, was busy with grad school and teaching, and his mother did not want the rest of the family down there) to see how the Underlanders were holding up with practically everyone at war.

They were not doing well at all. Everyone was exhausted, morale was down from fighting those who used to be friends, and the leaders had few ideas of what to do. It actually pained Gregor to see the queen, Luxa, look so worn. Though she had held her head high and spoke with her usual commanding voice, her eyes appeared tired and she looked thinner.

Gregor wanted to bring this up and suggest that maybe she take a break, but they had been fighting. She was often upset with his sporadic visits, and he could not get her to understand that he had other responsibilities. After all, her responsibilities included ruling over a city, maintaining peace with her allies, and fighting a civil war. He felt foolish justifying his absence with school when he should be helping with the war effort. Gregor knew there was no way he could convince her to relax with their friendship like that.

It was during his visit over semester break that Gregor was shown Nerissa's prophecy.

"My cousin has written this prophecy," Luxa said, handing him a scroll. "I believe you know what it entails." Gregor knew. "If you do not wish to accept the prophecy, then I will not force you. You will be free to return to the Overland." That annoyed him.

"You know I'll help, Luxa," Gregor said. She always acted like she did not want or need him around. Just once he would like someone to ask him nicely instead of just shoving a prophecy at him.

"You should consider this more," Luxa replied, her tone softening slightly. "We believe it includes more of your family, though it is not clear. I know you do not wish to involve them." Gregor saw what she meant.

Warrior's Return

War tears again through Underland

Gather kin and together band

With those who fight to stay as one

Against those who would have ties undone

Some will wish not to assist

While others find they cannot resist

Unexpected friends arrive

Seek help if you wish to survive

The Warrior must make a choice

If victory you wish to rejoice

Though together your strength is shown

Before the end, you stand alone

"I can't promise any help from them, but I can promise you'll have _my_ help." Gregor was not sure why he did it, but he took her hands. For a moment he was pretty sure she was going to slap him, but then he felt her squeeze his hands back. "If you need me to be the warrior again," the word stuck in his throat, "then I will be. And I'll do anything you need me to do." Luxa smiled, and Gregor was relieved because he had not seen that smile in so long.

"Then I have a gift for you," she said. The queen gestured to the table, and Gregor noticed a long bundle on it. He already knew what it was.

"You had it fixed?"

"Yes. I expected you would agree to help me," she said. Gregor unwrapped the bundle, and pulled out Lord Sandwich's sword. It had been so long since he had held it, and though it felt perfect in his hand, he was worried what it might symbolized. He did not want to be seen as a weapon or an image of hate and separation. Still, he knew he needed to accept being the Warrior again to help Regalia.

Now Gregor took a deep breath, and looked around his room. He was planning on staying in the Underland all summer, and he knew he would miss home at some point. Once again he was returning by himself, so he walked out to say goodbye to his family. His parents hugged him and told him to write and keep safe. Gregor could tell his mother was mad with him, but tried to push it aside for the goodbye. He said goodbye to his sisters, who planned on convincing their mother to let them come down and help. Then he turned to his cousin.

"You know you should come down for a visit," Gregor said. She smiled weakly.

"I have work up here. Besides, I doubt I would be of any use."

"Who cares if you're useful? People just miss you." That made her laugh, and she said maybe. Gregor left, and walked out to the cave by himself. It was easy to jump into the hole now: he did not even hesitate. When he landed, Hippolyta was there to greet him.

"Hello, Gregor," she said. "Is it just you again?"

"Yeah. Just me," he said feeling her fur. "But I'm hoping someone else will come later."


	2. Chapter 2

2

After the attempted coup, Regalia had lost many people from soldiers, council members, and generals to palace staff, citizens, and merchants. Anyone who remained was working double; therefore, Gregor no longer expected to be greeted when he arrived in the palace. He went straight to his quarters, which were now permanently reserved for him and his family, and washed up. There was a note from Luxa there explaining what had happened in the last few months. Gregor guessed she did not want to waste time explaining it if she could just write it.

Because the war was so large and included so many races, each side had named itself. The Regalians and anyone fighting to stay together were called the Allies. Stellovet and the other traitors called themselves the Isolists. It was believed that the Isolists were located in Spinner territory. There had been no major battles, but the Isolists had several ambush parties attacking any Allies traveling between the territories of the different races. Gregor noted the irony that the strength of the Isolists was that they could stay close together and the weakness of the Allies was that they were so separated.

Apparently there were also Isolist spies who sent messages in code about Allied plans or further instructions. The Allies were having a difficult time finding the spies, but they could occasionally find the messages. They just had no idea what the messages said. Gregor worried that they would want Lizzie to help break the code like she did during the war with the gnawers. Gregor decided he needed to talk to Luxa about this, and left to find her.

He walked to her quarters, and the guards informed him that she had left. Next Gregor checked around the palace asking about her with no luck. He had become close to Hippolyta lately, so he decided to ask her for a ride to the arena to see if Luxa was there. When they got there, Mareth greeted them, but said the queen went to her quarters to rest. Gregor sighed. It was times like this that he missed his phone. Hipp gave him a ride back to the palace.

"It would seem the Overlander thinks I am a travel service," she said. Gregor knew she was joking, but he still felt bad.

"Sorry, Hipp. It's just a pain to find people down here. I mean, who would think it would be hard to the queen?"

"It is good she is difficult to find. Then her enemies cannot find her either." Gregor hoped that was true. He was always worried someone would try to kill her.

When he finally got back to Luxa's quarters, Gregor was relieved that she was there. The guards let him in, and he found the queen leaning over a map on a table. He walked over to her.

"So you finally remembered to return," she said dryly.

"Yeah," he replied, trying not to sound annoyed. "Just like how I remembered to take care of all my responsibilities at home too." She did not reply, but walked to the sofa and sat. Gregor looked at her. She looked more rested and just healthier in general. He wondered what the change was. "So how is everything?"

"Did you not read my note?"

"I did, but I meant more along the lines of how are you feeling? How is the family?"

"I feel fine, and my family is a bother." She was still cold, so Gregor decided to try to lighten her up. He plopped down hard next to her, making her bounce on the sofa. She gave him a dirty look.

"Well family is supposed to bother you," he said smiling. "How exactly are they bothering you?" Luxa did not look excited to talk, but spoke anyway.

"Vikus continues to insist there is a peaceful solution even though we are clearly at war. Howard is a hypocrite. He tells me I must rest constantly, though he works continually as both a captain in the army and a doctor. We finally made an agreement to both rest. Hazard insists on helping in the war effort despite my objections. Then of course there is meeting after meeting after meeting." She heaved a sigh, and Gregor was pleased to hear some hostility left her voice.

A thought crossed his mind, and suddenly he wanted to put his arm around Luxa. No, that was stupid. She is a queen. She does not need that. But she does look tired. It would show his support. But what if she took it the wrong way? He held his breath and put his arm on the back of the sofa behind her. Luxa closed her eyes and tilted her head back onto his arm, and Gregor felt his stomach tie into a knot.

"Well," he started, then cleared his throat nervously. "Well, Vikus is always like that, and Howard is just worried about you. And your deal with him must be working because you look… uh. You look healthier." She looked at him funny, so he pushed on. "And as long as Hazard is not fighting, it should be ok. Right?"

"I suppose. You have been looking for me today. What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Well I wanted to see how you were," he admitted. He slid his arm down around Luxa, then continued, hoping she would not notice. "But also, I saw you mentioned a code to break. Were you going to try to get Lizzie's help?"

"We are not sure," she said. Luxa eyed his arm, and Gregor quickly pulled it off her. He felt his face grow hot. "Idiot," he thought to himself. "Perhaps we can speak of this another time. I would like to sleep now."

"Yeah. Sure. Of course," Gregor said as he stood up. "Just uh. Let me know when you want to talk." She gave a weak smile, and Gregor left feeling like an idiot.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Over the next few days, Luxa had Gregor involved in every war meeting there was. Gregor was just happy that there were not that many. Because of the lack of battles, the meetings mainly focused on how to best protect Allies as they transported information or supplies. Though for the most part he sat quietly and listened, gathering as much information as he could, Gregor could occasionally make useful suggestions. Vikus was very pleased with Gregor's improvement in participating in the meetings, and Mareth was impressed that Gregor could make sound military judgements now.

Luxa also spoke to Gregor in private often. Gregor was pleased when he realized that she would talk through ideas she had with him before she tried to explain them to others. This resulted in many fights between them as Gregor often challenged her ideas, but in the end she appeared to appreciate his help.

"I have been considering a line from Nerissa's prophecy," Luxa said one day while they were with Ripred and Vikus. "'Unexpected friends arrive.' I believe that it may mean a possible partnership with the serpents we encountered in the uncharted lands."

"The line could be referring to any number of races," Vikus pointed out.

"Yes, but not many of them would be useful to the cause," Ripred said. "Now I know you two like the crawlers," he gestured to Vikus and Gregor, "But they're not much help in battle. The twisters and cutters cannot be used, and we're not ones to hire buzzer mercenaries." Luxa nodded.

"Correct. This is why I believe we must enlist the help of the serpents."

"It doesn't say how these 'friends' will help," Gregor put in. "The crawlers may be useful and more willing to help than the serpents." Luxa was prepared for this.

"If the prophecy refers the crawlers, then we may speak to them easily. If it refers to the serpents, then we will have no relationship with them. It would be safest to begin forming an alliance now as a precautionary measure." They could all see the logic in that, and Vikus looked proud of his granddaughter.

"Who do you intend to send to negotiate with the serpents?" he asked.

"I am uncertain," Luxa admitted. "I would like to go myself, but I understand I am needed here in Regalia."

"It's about time you learned to stay put," Ripred said. Gregor elbowed him, but could not hide a smile. The queen ignored them.

"My first choice would be to send you, Vikus, but I know you are busy keeping relations between the Allies." Gregor knew that even though they fought together, the Allies still had conflict within. "My second choice would be Howard, but we know why I cannot send him," she said dryly. Ripred laughed, and Gregor apologized for his cousin. Without Wynnora, Howard had no wife, and that would be suspicious to the easily offended, matriarchal serpents.

"You need a man and woman," Vikus said. "That way the serpents may grow accustomed to our ways of equality between genders. Have you considered sending Susannah and York?"

"They must watch over the Fount. With Stellovet leading the Isolist humans, not even the Fount is safe from large attacks."

"Can't Howard lead the Fount for a while?" Gregor asked.

"He will take over some day," Ripred said. "It would be good practice for him."

"I am uncertain he would be willing to." Luxa frowned. "I already have him leading parts of the army and acting as a doctor."

"I'm sure he can handle it, Luxa," Gregor said. "After all, he is your cousin." She smiled, and Gregor was pretty sure it was meant just for him.

"Do you approve of sending Howard to the Fount?" Luxa asked Vikus.

"I am sure he is more than capable, and it will be for only a brief time. If your plan is to gain the serpents as allies, then this is your best option."

"I will speak with him about it." An Underlander stepped into the meeting room.

"Your Highness?" she said.

"Yes? You may speak."

"The Overlander's cousin entered the city two hours ago. She was ambushed by a small Isolist party on her journey here, and is resting in her quarters." Gregor was on his feet in a second, and made his way to the exit.

"Why was I not informed sooner?" Luxa was furious. The Underland looked scared, but Gregor left before he heard the response. He was just hoping his cousin was alright.


	4. Chapter 4

4

He ran back to his quarters, and rushed to Wynnora's room. She was not there. He walked back out into the living room just as Luxa and Ripred were coming in.

"How fare your cousin, Gregor?" Luxa asked. He shrugged.

"I don't know. She's not here."

"I'll find her," Ripred said. "She reeks of the Overland and books." Gregor did not see how that was a bad thing. He followed Ripred with Luxa through the palace corridors. Ripred never faltered once, and confidently navigated his way to Nerissa's quarters. They stepped in and saw Nerissa sitting with a freshly bathed Wynnora.

"Wynn. Are you hurt?" Gregor said, rushing to her.

"Oh, hi," she said. She waved to them, then went back to wiping something on her lap. "I'm hurt, but nothing serious." Gregor doubted that. She had a bruise on her cheek, both knees were badly bruised, a cut on her temple, several cuts on her arms, and a huge slash on her thigh. They had all been bandaged.

"How did you escape with your life?" Luxa asked. She looked completely baffled.

"Nerissa sent Clio to get me, and she was great in getting us out of there." A peach colored flier sat in the window and looked badly shaken.

"I do not wish to be ambushed again," Clio admitted.

"Well I'll try not to get you into any more trouble," Wynnora said with a grateful smile. "I also had to fight them off," she added, frowning while holding up two sai. "I wasn't planning on dropping down here, so I had these with me. They were my mother's, and now there is blood on them." Gregor did not see any blood, but Wynnora continued to wipe at them anyway. He took her hand to stop her. She was trying to hide it, but she was not handling the ambush well.

"Nerissa sent for you?" Luxa asked. "But I did not request for her to come. How did you know to send for her when you did?" Nerissa smiled.

"I think by now we should not question how Nerissa knows things," Ripred said.

"Indeed, and now I think I shall find something to read. Ripred, would you accompany me to the Museum?" Nerissa asked. He agreed, and they left together.

"Why did you come down? I thought you were staying up there for good," Gregor asked.

"Well, I was sort of planning on coming back down, but never had the time. And then I just decided to take a walk out to the cave before going home, and Clio was there. So I figured why not?"

"It is good to see you again," Luxa said. "It has been quite some time."

"Thanks. I missed you guys."

"Wynn?" Howard looked like he ran here. He also looked exhausted, and Gregor figured he must be overworking himself again. "Why did you not find me when you returned?" He rushed over to Wynnora and immediately began inspecting her wounds. Gregor and Luxa looked away awkwardly as he slipped her dress up higher to look at the slash on her leg, which no doubt was her most serious injury.

"Ok, slow down there. You could at least buy me a drink first," Wynnora said in an annoyed tone while pulling her dress back down.

"What? I do not understand. Who dressed your wounds?"

"I don't know. Some guy with pale skin and purple eyes."

"Wow, Wynn. You're so funny," Gregor said sarcastically. Howard pulled off the bandages, then began complaining about the horrible job that was done. He immediately started redoing the stitches himself. Gregor's cousin rolled her eyes and let him.

"Wynnora, please tell me what happened when you were attacked," Luxa said.

"Not much happened really. Clio already told Mareth where we were. There were two men, a woman, and two fliers. I just fought them off until we could get out of there."

"There must have been something else," Luxa insisted. Her voice was raising. "Did you recognize them? Did they say anything? Did you kill them?" Wynnora flinched at the last question, and looked away. Gregor put his hand on her shoulder. "You must tell me, Wynnora."

"Calm yourself, cousin," Howard said. "Can you not see she needs time?"

"Just because you are fond of her, does not mean I must baby her," Luxa snapped angrily. "We do not have the luxury of being frightened after a skirmish." Howard's face turned a deep shade of red.

"That's enough, Luxa," Gregor said sharply. He did not care that she was queen. She was out of line. She turned to him with fire in her eyes, and Gregor stared right back at her not willing to back down this time.

"There were scrolls," Wynnora interrupted. "I was able to grab a bag of scrolls. They're with Mareth. I imagine they're in code. And if you're interested, Lizzie and Hazard have been writing to each other for some time trying to break it." Gregor had no idea about this, but he wanted his cousin to rest.

"We can talk about this later, Wynn. Is it alright if I leave you with Howard?"

"Yeah sure," she sighed. "He looks like he wants to yell at me anyway."

"Keep him out of the hospital," Luxa ordered. "He is to rest. Gregor, come with me." Gregor knew he was in trouble, and he braced himself as he followed Luxa out of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, so I never actually talk to you guys, but I feel like should :P All your comments have been super nice, and I really appreciate that, but it's absolutely hilarious how so many of the comments are more Gluxa more Gluxa more Gluxa. So as punishment, I'm breaking Gregor and Luxa up.**

 **Just kidding, I could never. It might be hard to believe, but I thought I was adding more. Sorry, I'm just not big on romance. Having said that, I have (at least I think I have) been adding more about Gregor and Luxa. Thanks for the support, and I hope you enjoy the story :)**

5

Luxa walked quickly down the corridor, and when they were far enough from their cousins, she turned on him.

"How dare you speak to me in such a tone," she hissed.

"You're one to talk." Gregor tried to keep his voice down. "You treat my cousin like a child, and then you make something up to embarrass your cousin. I'm no expert, but I don't think that's how queens behave." She looked as if she might slap him, but he held his ground.

"I am queen. I may speak however I wish to whomever I wish. And do not dare call me a liar."

"That's a bad attitude to take when you're planning on making a treaty with a race that is willing to go to war over an insult," he shot back. "And if you don't want me to call you a liar, then don't make things up. That could get them into a lot of trouble." Luxa shoved him hard.

"Do not question my competency! I know what I am doing. And as for Howard. He likes Wynn very much, but I am sure he can move past some _Overlander_. Did we not do the same?" Her eyes were ice cold. Gregor did not know how to answer. Should he answer? He was not even sure what she meant. He knew it hurt though.

"Know your place, Overlander," Luxa spat, then turned and walked away. Gregor just stood there feeling completely crushed. It was in that moment that he realized he had wanted more than just a friendship with the queen, and that something like that would never happen. That was why her words hurt him so badly. He just watched as she walked away from him out of sight.

"Well that wasn't pleasant to watch." Ripred appeared next to him, and Gregor cringed. He did not need this right now.

"Then you shouldn't have been watching." Ripred ignored the comment.

"You had to figure Luxa would be the type to completely destroy the boy who loves her." Gregor wanted to tell him to shut up, but he knew that would only encourage the gnawer. "Want me to tell you what she really thinks of you?" he asked, twitching his nose with a smile. Gregor wanted to say yes.

"No." He walked away expecting to hear Ripred's laughter, but he heard nothing.

The next three days went by slowly. Luxa avoided him the whole time. Gregor kept busy with Mareth either by training or just keeping up with information about the war. He also worked with Hippolyta. They flew well naturally together, and Gregor felt that despite their short time together, they made quite the team. While they were practicing together one day, Gregor spotted his cousin and they landed beside her.

"What are you doing in the arena?" he asked. "Your leg is still injured."

"Oh, I just came to talk to Mareth. I haven't seen everyone in so long." She was watching Howard and another soldier duel. "How good is he?"

"I would say the captain's skills are above average," said Hipp. "Though he and Nike are no match for the queen and Aurora together. Or perhaps even for Gregor and myself," she added with satisfaction.

"So you two are getting to be quite the team? Don't let it go to your head." Wynnora messed up Gregor's hair. "I love watching them train."

"Trying to name all the techniques?" Gregor asked. He knew she loved studying weaponry and techniques.

"No. Just aesthetically pleasing," she said with a coy smile. Gregor rolled his eyes.

"You said Gregor's sister and Hazard are trying to break the Isolists' code?" Hipp asked.

"Yeah. I found out they have been writing letters to each other. They would probably do better if they were together, but I don't think Grace will let your sisters down here." Gregor agreed.

"It would be so much easier if we could go up there," he said.

The next day, Wynnora left with Howard to the Fount. She spent hours convincing him to take her so she could see the library, and he gave into her in the end. Gregor was happy she could go, but he wished he could have her to talk to. He spent the next couple days feeling rather lonely. He finally decided he needed to force Luxa to talk to him again.

He knew that she would occasionally slip away with Aurora to be alone for a brief time, so he and Hippolyta waited in the darkness (an advantage he gained from echolocation) above her window. When he saw her leave with Aurora he and Hipp followed at a distance. They flew for some time through an empty tunnel, and when Gregor thought they had gone far enough, he had Hipp catch up. The queen and her bond noticed quickly, as he had expected, and landed. Hippolyta landed beside them.

"Why are you following us?" Luxa demanded.

"Just wanted to talk."

"So talk." She raised her chin high and waited.

"Well," he said, walking around the cave. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. And for the fight." She did not answer. "And I thought that maybe we could just talk it out." He thought it sounded stupid, but it was the best he could do.

"Very well." Gregor was shocked. Just like that the iciness left her voice, and she sounded open again. "She just wanted me to apologize," Gregor thought. He laughed.

"Well alright th-" _Poof!_ There was the sound of something popping, then a fine dust filled the area. Gregor tried to get his shirt over his mouth, but he still breathed some of it in. He immediately felt dizzy, his heart raced, and his vision warped in front of him. He heard Luxa cough and two thuds as Hipp and Aurora fell to the ground. Figures moved in front of him. Gregor drew his sword, but stumbled as the weight completely threw him off balance. One of the figures struck him in the head, and he fell to the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

6

"Aurora!" Gregor heard Luxa call out. "Gregor?"

"Ah! She has drawn her sword. Do not let her strike you." The annoyed voice sounded muffled. Gregor shook his head. He needed to help Luxa and the fliers, but his vision was so fuzzy and twisted images around before him. He tried his echolocation, and the same effect occurred. He needed to do something.

"Leave the flier. We can discard the queen's body in the river. Do no spill her blood here." Gregor was not going to let them take her. He pushed himself up and took several deep breaths. With each one he pushed his reality further away, and let his rager instincts take over. Gregor had no idea what happened next. He just felt the sensation of moving. His senses were all blurred, but he did not need them. He just needed to kill whoever was after Luxa.

"Gregor!" He had to stop them.

"Gregor! Calm yourself." He felt a blow to his chest, then a body on top of him. He fought back.

"Gregor, be still." Luxa. It was Luxa. He shook his head, and rubbed his eyes. He could just make out her face. "Are you calm?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." She nodded, and tried to roll off him. It was difficult work, and under any other circumstance Gregor would have laughed. She reached out for the ground only to miss and fall. She tried to throw her weight to the right, only to lose her balance and fall back to her left. Gregor tried to help, but only had a little more control over his body now that he was not using his rager senses. After a few minutes she was finally able to roll off him, and they laid on the ground in silence.

"What happened?" Gregor finally asked.

"We were attacked."

"I think _you_ were attacked."

"I was attacked."

"What happened to the people?" Luxa did not respond right away.

"I think you killed them." Gregor felt sick. He did not remember that. "I stopped you as soon as I was able. I am not sure what happened though, I was so dizzy."

Gregor had no idea how long they laid there. For all he knew it could have been hours. When he finally did try to sit up, he had a horrible headache. It felt like he was being stabbed in the head. He stood up, then helped up Luxa who had been affected more by the powder. Aurora and Hippolyta were only moving a little, but they were both alright. Gregor and Luxa went to look at whoever attack them. There were three bodies, two women and a man.

"Do you recognize them?" Gregor asked. Luxa nodded, her eyes wide in shock. Gregor thought the one woman could be the Underlander who told them Wynnora had returned to Regalia again.

"They usually bring me my meals or deliver my messages." She looked terrified, and Gregor just noticed that she was holding his hand. He squeezed it, so she knew he was there for her. "I. I cannot believe they." She shook her head. "The spies were in front of me all along."

"It's ok, Luxa," Gregor said.

"It is not 'ok.'" She snapped. "How am I to trust anyone? It would seem all have betrayed me. They tried to kill me, Gregor."

"Not everyone has betrayed you. There are still plenty of people you can trust. You'll be alright. Regalia will be alright." Gregor forced her to look at him. She rubbed her eyes then pushed her crown up. "You can trust me," he added. She nodded and leaned her head on his chest. They stayed long enough to regain all their senses, then flew back to the palace in silence.

Over the next several days, Luxa had the entire palace staff interviewed to see if she could find any more traitors. Only her most trusted advisors, Vikus, Ripred, Mareth, conducted the interviews. No other spies were found. Vikus and Mareth insisted she increase her guard, but Luxa was too afraid to allow any new people get that close to her again. Gregor offered to help be a guard, and the queen agreed. No one had any objections since he had been the one to defend her after the assassination attempt.

Now Regalia knew that the Isolists had new weapons, and they spread the information among the Allies. It did not surprise many people as most of the scientists had left with or been kidnapped by the traitors. The powder was determined to have been derived from a plant, unfortunately Regalia had few botanists left. None of them had any idea what had been used, or if there could be any other kind of powder out there. Everyone was afraid the Isolists may have a powder that caused instant death, but Gregor doubted it. They would have used it to kill Luxa if they did have such a weapon.

For now, Gregor kept a close watch on Luxa. Though he wanted to keep his sister safe, he now wanted Lizzie to come help decode the messages. If there was anything in there that could help keep Luxa safe, he wanted to know about it.


	7. Chapter 7

7

Over the next week, Isolist raids increased, there was a large attack on the Fount with the new powder weapons, resulting in the first full battle in some time, and Gregor defended Luxa from another assassination attempt. Well, this time she defended him. A spinner caught her off guard while she was asleep, and Gregor rushed into her room from his post outside her quarters when he heard her yell. Unfortunately he rushed a bit too much, and the spinner knocked him to the floor. It was about to stab him with a leg when Luxa hacked off its head. It was just a reminder that Luxa was a strong fighter, and Gregor admired her for it.

Howard and Wynnora returned a short time later. Susannah and York had been successful in that they introduced the serpents to Regalian culture and men could now speak to them, but there was no guarantee they would help. Still, Luxa could now send others to speak with them instead of only her most important advisors.

Luxa called a meeting to discuss their next move in the war. Lapblood came to represent the gnawers, Nike spoke for the fliers. Gregor was glad that the meetings no longer included a big council.

"You did excellent defending the Fount from attack. You have proven yourself a strong leader in battle," Mareth said to Howard. He patted the young man on the back.

"I am not so sure," Howard admitted. "Many of the soldiers survived, but with severe burns. The army which attacked the Fount used powder balls which released a substance that burns the skin."

"Humans never cease to amaze me," Lapblood said. "You love your chemical weapons." She was probably still angry about having the plague unleashed on the gnawers by the humans.

"We do not all 'love' such weapons," Howard said back, clearly angry. "If you recall, not all humans escaped unscathed from that mistake."

"We are not here to fight amongst ourselves or recall painful memories," Vikus said. "Let us move on to more constructive matters."

"Yes," Luxa said. "What is to be done about the raids?"

"We can cover our faces to protect from the powder that makes people dizzy," Gregor suggested, but he knew it was not the best idea.

"But we can't stop the ones that burn," Wynnora said. She and Howard both had some burns.

"It would be best to just avoid traveling altogether," Lapblood said.

"That's not really an option, so why bother saying it?" Ripred cut in. Silence.

"What if we sent someone else?" Gregor asked. "Someone not a part of the Allies to transport supplies or relay messages."

"Who?" Luxa asked. "We do not yet have help from the serpents."

"The crawlers." The Underlanders looked at him with doubt. "The prophecy says unexpected friends. They would be unexpected." Vikus shook his head.

"But they will not help us. I have tried enlisting their help already, and they are against it. They do not wish to be a part of this war."

"Would they still listen to Boots?" Nike asked.

"Good luck getting Maggie down here," Wynnora said. "Lizzie has been trying to get down here for months with no luck. I doubt Grace will let either of the girls down."

"Perhaps you could still try, Gregor," Luxa said. He was not so sure. They played around with the idea then moved on to other matters.

"Luxa needs to stop being a target for assassination attempts," Ripred said.

"And how am I to do that?"

"You could leave the city," Mareth suggested. "It would give us an opportunity to use a decoy to lure the assassins out. Then we may eliminate them." Howard shook his head.

"And where would we send her? She would not be safe in the Fount, what with spies and surprise attacks, and having her wander the Underland is not an option."

"Well we need to throw off the Isolists, so they ease up on the attacks," Ripred said. "She needs to disappear." They all thought.

"Well…" Wynnora began. "She could just go upstairs for a while." The entire room looked at her like she was crazy. "It could solve two problems. It would get the queen out of the city so guys can do whatever you want. And it would mean both she and Gregor could try to convince Grace to let the girls come help."

"I do not think we need Luxa out of the city that badly," Howard said.

"Now wait a minute," Ripred cut in. "We should think about this. It's just what we need. The queen will be gone, we put in a fake, then use her as bait to lead assassins and raiding parties into traps."

"No," Howard insisted. "I will not allow Luxa to run off with Gregor." Luxa rolled her eyes.

"Would it truly be beneficial if I were to disappear?" she asked.

"It would put you out of harm's way while we eliminate assassins. You were nearly killed twice in less than two weeks. I expect more attacks to come. This may be the best option for your safety," Mareth said. Gregor figured they must be getting desperate if the Overland was the safest place for an Underland queen.

"I would have to stay in Regalia," Aurora said. "Still, I think it best you go." Arguments went back and forth around the room. Howard was firmly against it, and he fought with Wynnora who supported the idea. Everyone else was in the middle. After two hours, they finally agreed to a plan. Luxa would go to the Overland for one week. During that time, she and Gregor would try to convince Grace to allow Lizzie and Maggie to come help. The Underlanders would use a decoy queen to lure the assassins and raiding parties into traps and eliminate them.

Gregor was worried sick about this plan. Part of him was glad to have Luxa going somewhere he knew no one could find her, but he was also concerned about the effects the Overland could have on her. He hoped that if he just kept her out of the sun she would be alright.


	8. Chapter 8

8

They left the next day. Wynnora would return with Gregor to make it appear as though they were only visiting home. Howard insisted on accompanying them. There was no way he was allowing his cousin to leave with a teenage boy. Gregor really did not feel that this would be a problem, but he did not argue with Howard.

Nike and Aurora had to stay in Regalia to make it appear as though the two Regalians were still in the city. Hippolyta and Clio gave them rides to the exit instead. The entire mission was done quickly and without ceremony to avoid any chance of an enemy finding out. As an added precaution, the Underlanders laid down on the fliers and were covered so that they remained hidden for the whole trip. Gregor thought it looked comfortable, but he doubted either of the Underlanders could relax without their fliers by their side.

After flying for several hours they came to the exit. Clio and Hipp did a thorough search of the area to make sure there were no enemies lurking in the darkness. When the area was determined safe, everyone dismounted so they could slip through the crevice leading to the tunnel up to the Overland. Gregor looked at Luxa who appeared incredibly stressed.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"I cannot remember the last time I was without Aurora." Howard put his arm around her.

"You will be with her again very soon," he said. Everyone seemed hesitant to actually go up.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Wynnora said. "I'm not known for my brilliant plans. I'm thinking we shoul-"

"We're going up," Gregor said firmly. "Luxa needs to get away from the assassins, and we need my sisters. We need to do this." He told everyone to get back on the fliers, then they floated up the mists to the cave. The group had two flashlights with them, which they used for the trip up.

"Alright," Gregor said. "You two should go right away. It would look suspicious if you stayed longer. Be careful," he said, petting Hippolyta's fir.

"We shall," she said. "Fly you high." They returned the goodbye, and the fliers dropped back down to the darkness.

"Wynn, you go check the cave entrance. I don't know if it's night or day, and I don't think we should leave with the sun out." Wynnora nodded, and left with a flashlight for the entrance.

"Are you guys ok," Gregor asked.

"Nervous," Howard admitted. He still had his arm around his cousin.

"What if something happens to Aurora?" Luxa asked. "They will surely use her as bait. What if she is injured? Or… I should not have left her."

"Do not think such things. Your bond is strong and clever. She will not easily fall to harm."

"Yeah," Gregor added. "And she will have her own body guards the whole time." Gregor thought Howard was better at comforting her, and he was now glad the young man came with. They waited a few more minutes for Wynnora to return. When she walked back to the group, she flicked her hand at Gregor and he felt drops of water on his face.

"It's dark, and it's raining," she said. Gregor frowned.

"Raining? Maybe we should wait until it stops." Wynnora raised an eyebrow.

"You fell into a hole when you were twelve and ran right into giant bugs with no problem. I fell into a hole next to a battle and I'm still alive. I think they can handle a little rain."

"What is rain?" Howard asked.

"Water that falls from the sky," Gregor explained quickly. "So I hope you don't mind getting wet, because we're leaving now." The Underlanders looked a bit confused about the rain, but followed him through the cave. As they got closer Gregor could hear and smell the weather, and he found it pretty refreshing. When they got to the cave opening, the Underlanders' eyes went wide as they stared in awe at the rain. They stepped out into the downpour right away.

"I imagine that is what our faces looked like the first time we saw Regalia." Wynnora had to raise her voice to be heard over the storm. Gregor nodded.

"Come on, guys," he called. "It's just a short walk this way." The Underlanders were handling this better than Gregor thought. Though they were clearly amazed by all the plant life around them and the water falling from the sky, they remained collected and focused, and moved through the forest easily. _Crack_! A flash of lightning lit up the area, and was quickly followed by the low rumble of thunder.

"What was that!?" Luxa shouted. She and her cousin both had their swords drawn.

"Nothing dangerous," Wynnora called back. "Put the pointy things away. We'll explain it later." Gregor figured they should hurry. He led them briskly up to the house, and they all entered shivering from the rain.

Suddenly the lights flicked on, and the group all flinched in pain at the bright light.

"Who's there!?"


	9. Chapter 9

9

"Ah! Turn the light off, dad!" Gregor yelled at him. He did not mean to, but the light was a surprise and hurt his eyes. The light flicked back off. Another came on in the kitchen, so Gregor could see but it was not so bright.

"Gregor, I wasn-" Gregor's father stopped short. "Oh. You brought friends."

"Well technically I live here," Wynnora said, stepping in. She went to her room.

"Your mother is not going to like this."

"Yeah, I know." Gregor could already hear the rest of his family waking up. "This is Luxa and Howard." They nodded politely, and Gregor's father stared back. He finally caught himself and invited them into the living room. Wynnora came back in and gave the Underlanders dry clothes to change into. She rushed them off to change.

"Ok, your mom is coming. You ready?" she asked Gregor. He nodded.

"We got this." Gregor's mother finally came into the living room. She immediately hugged Gregor, then switched right to scolding him. Why didn't you write? You brought the queen up here! You are in so much trouble. There better not be rats following. Are you out of your mind? Wynnora tried to help him explain, but Grace was still furious. It took an hour to calm her down, then another to get her to go back to bed. Gregor knew this was going to be a long week.

Over the next two days, Gregor did not even try to bring up having Lizzie and Maggie going to the Underland. Instead he had to answer a long series of questions from his family and the Underlanders. It took forever to satisfy everyone. Then of course there was the issue of the physical safety of the Underlanders. Wynnora had them wear sun block as all times, even though they stayed in the house. She also have they sun glasses in case the light was too much, and aspirin for the inevitable headaches.

Luxa was anxious, and wanted to do something for the war effort. She convinced Gregor to bring up having Lizzie and Maggie return with them to the Underland on the second night. Though Gregor's father listened patiently, his mother just refused. The fight quickly got heated, and Howard had to fight to keep Luxa in line. Gregor's father tried to keep Grace calm. Finally Gregor gave up and went to bed. He told himself that tomorrow he would just relax.

Gregor heard a knock at his door. He figured it was Luxa, since he gave her his room to sleep in.

"Come in."

"You have a minute to talk?" Lizzie asked. She had Maggie with her.

"Of course. What do you need?" Gregor's sisters looked at each other, then closed the door and sat on his bed.

"We both want to help Regalia," Lizzie began. "I've already been trying to. You see, I've been-"

"I know you've been writing to Hazard," Gregor said with a smile. "We can talk about boys later." She shoved him and rolled her eyes.

"He's younger than me. Anyway. Maggie and I both think the prophecy means for us to help. Mom would be the unwilling party. We would be the kin."

"And I'm sure I can get the crawlers to help," Maggie added. Gregor was suddenly struck by how old they had both gotten.

"Well then the two of you need to help me convince mom," he said laying back. They sat in silence a moment.

"I think they're using different languages for the messages," Lizzie blurted out. "One day French, another day German. It's difficult to tell, because the letters also seem slightly scrambled. They must have gotten translations from somewhere." She started to sound panicked. "If I could only work with Hazard directly."

"Calm down, Liz," Gregor said. "Don't think about it right now. Let's just relax." A couple minutes went by, then Maggie spoke up.

"What do you think about making a choice? Or standing alone?" she asked.

"I don't know. These things always seem to sort themselves out later."

"I hate not knowing," Lizzie said. "Do you really think you're going to end up alone?"

"He's never alone as long as we're here," Maggie said. Gregor was amazed at how mature she was, and he was worried he would tear up.

"Aw, you guys care about your big brother? So cute," he said, pulling them both back into a tight hug. They laughed and tried to break free, and Gregor was thankful for the chance to play with his sister like they were normal kids.


	10. Chapter 10

10

The next day Gregor woke up on the couch to the sound of people talking. He had no idea how long they had been up, and he felt bad for sleeping in. He sat up and looked around. Lizzie and Wynnora were making breakfast in the kitchen (Wynnora had been cooking like crazy now that she had a kitchen again. She said she would spoil the Underlanders with food they never had before.), Gregor's father (he was off for summer vacation) was showing Luxa how to use a laptop so they could both try to figure out what those powder balls were, and Howard was playing a game with Maggie. Gregor's mother was at work.

By the time Gregor finished with his morning routine, Lizzie was passing around pancakes and bacon. She made sure Gregor's father and Luxa actually took their breakfast since they were completely distracted with research.

"I'll bring Howard his plate," Maggie called out cheerfully. She ran to Wynnora, grabbed his plate then walked it back to the table where they had been playing cards.

"Many thanks, princess," Howard said with a smile. Maggie giggled, blushed, and then went back to the kitchen. Wynnora looked at Gregor with a smile, and mouthed "Awwww, she has a crush." She turned to Howard, "So cute." The Underlander chuckled, and shook his head. Gregor could not help laughing either. He grabbed his plate, and sat down with Luxa and his dad who each had a laptop.

"I do not think any plant from the Overland could have been used to make the powders. They could not survive in the Underland," Luxa said.

"No," his father agree. "But there may be a related plant. Or we could find a similar reaction, and use that remedy." Luxa nodded, and they got back to looking through online plant indexes. Gregor noticed Luxa was squinting slightly at the screen, so he hit the button to lower the display brightness.

"Thank you," she murmured without stopping what she was doing. She was cute when she was completely focused. No. Not cute. "Queens are not cute," Gregor reprimanded himself. He pushed the thought aside, and helped Luxa make better searches. After a while, he got frustrated that he could not find anything, and scooched in next to her as he focused harder.

"And this is a picture of us at the beach. Wynn always gets a sunburn," Maggie explained. Gregor glanced over his shoulder, and saw her showing Howard a photo album. Wynnora leaned over to look too.

"My cousin seems to be under the impression that he is on a holiday," Luxa grumbled.

"Leave him alone. He's had a rough year," Gregor said. He did lose two sisters after all. Maybe time with Gregor's sisters would be good for him. "Tell me if you recognize any of these plants." He scrolled though a long list.

"This is Gregor at a track meet... Here I am winning my first swimming race… That's Lizzie with her Mathlete team. She's a nerd," Maggie continued.

"Shut up!" Lizzie yelled. The two sisters laughed.

"This is a page for Wynn," Maggie went on. "These are her parents. And that is her on vacation."

"I see why you are so comfortable removing your clothing now," Howard said.

"Shut up, I didn't pick that swimsuit out. I don't usually dress like that. Keep flipping."

"Wait, I wish to see more of your pictures." Gregor heard them scuffle behind him.

"Wait," Howard said, serious now.

"No, you're not looking at that one."

"Do not flatter yourself. Look at this one. What is this plant? Here, in the picture of you in the garden."

"Uh. Foxglove. Why?" Wynnora asked.

"I recognize it." Luxa, Gregor, and his father turned around sharply. "It is found in the jungle. Except it is larger, a slightly different color, and it has a large, thorny fruit."

"Is it poisonous?" Gregor's father asked.

"Yes. I had forgotten about it. I cannot remember what the effects of its poison is."

"Well, foxglove is definitely poisonous. And the thorny fruit could mean it's related to a thorn apple. Either way, the symptoms match up," his father said. "Elevated heart rate, blurred vision, loss of nervous system control. I think your cousin just found your plant." He grinned at Luxa, who looked excited.

"Is there a way to remedy the symptoms it causes?" she asked, leaning over the back of the couch.

"I imagine the best solution is rest, but I believe there is a medication which can quicken recovery." Everyone laughed excitedly. They had done something useful even in the Overland. Luxa planned to have to medicine distributed as soon as they returned in case anyone else was attacked with the powders. Unfortunately there was not much that could be done about the powder that burned skin, so Howard just suggested soldiers keep as much skin as possible covered.

This was a great improvement for them. At least they knew they would not return to Regalia empty handed. Now all Gregor needed to do was get his mother to agree to let his sisters come to the Underland.


	11. Chapter 11

11

Though she tried to stay angry, Gregor's mother could not hide that she was happy to see the Underlanders again. She kept letting slip little things like oh you've grown so much, such a beautiful young woman, or good job keeping my son in line to Luxa, and look how handsome you've become, I hope you're still playing chess, and no doubt you're a good doctor now to Howard. She clearly did not want her children involved in the Underlanders' affairs, but she could not helping liking the actual people.

Gregor noticed that his father had taken his side. He would talk in private with his mom about letting the girls go help. Though the man had had a difficult time in the Underland (he was taken prisoner by gnawers after all), he grew fond of many people while he stayed in Regalia. He also did not want his children to get hurt, but he did not want to let an entire city get destroyed when they could have helped. Gregor hoped his father could convince his mom.

In the meantime, Gregor and Wynnora wanted to give the Underlanders a good Overland experience. Gregor knew they could not go outside during the day, but he went out each night with Luxa to look at the stars. She absolutely loved looking at the night sky and was willing to sit outside for hours. Gregor forgot about the stars one night, and started to look at the queen instead when she asked him something.

"Why did you keep the picture of us all this time?"

"Huh?" Gregor was caught off guard. "A picture?"

"The one you took in the museum when we were young. It is in your drawer."

"You were going through my drawer?"

"I was merely looking for something to write with," she said, looking away. Gregor did not really care if she looked through his stuff.

"I kept it, because I like it," he said simply. "You're the best friend I have, so I didn't want to forget what you looked like. I keep it in that drawer so I don't lose it by accident." She made a face then nodded. Gregor hesitated before asking his next question. "Do you still have your picture?"

"Of course. For much the same reason." She smiled at him then leaned her head on his shoulder. His stomach twisted into a knot, and he worried that Howard would come out at any moment to pull him off his cousin. After a few minutes he allowed himself to relax, and just enjoyed being there for Luxa.

Gregor was not sure how long they sat there, but Luxa suggested they go inside before anyone noticed. When they went in, Gregor's parents were in bed, his sisters were playing a game at the kitchen table, and Wynnora was showing Howard The Princess Bride. They came in just in time for the Rodents of Unusual Size scene. Howard burst into laughter at the ridiculous rat costume. Luxa tilted her head in disbelief with a funny smile on her face.

"What is wrong with you Overlanders?" she asked. Gregor chuckled at the amusement in her voice.

"Hush," Wynnora said. "I love this movie."

"Why does the woman just stand there?" Luxa asked. "She is not saving the man."

"Not everyone can be as great as you, You Highness," Gregor said.

"Well that is true." She gave him a killer smile, and Gregor thought he might melt right there. He followed her to play cards with his sister, and while she was not looking, both Lizzie and Maggie teased him silently about her. He rolled his eyes.

It was getting close to 2 am, and Gregor noticed his cousin fell asleep on Howard. The man seemed more than willing to stay put to let her sleep. Gregor and Luxa continued playing cards with his sisters.

"Maybe we should start betting on games to make it more interesting," Maggie suggested. She yawned, and looked like she was barely able to stay awake.

"We're not betting on anything. Who taught you that?" Gregor asked.

"Wynnie. She said it was good for my math skills." Gregor shook his head.

"In the Underland, it is frowned upon to gamble; however, I know the soldiers do it anyway. They place wages on games and duels and such," Luxa explained.

"See. Even the uptight Underlanders do it," Maggie said. Lizzie elbowed her.

"What is the uptight?" Luxa asked.

"You know." Gregor could not think of a way to describe it. "Proper. Follow the rules. Kind of nervous." He shrugged.

"I am not up-"

"Shh."

"Did you just shush the queen?" Lizzie asked in amazement.

"Seriously shh. Did you head that?"

"It's probably just an animal in the woods," Lizzie said. Maggie perked up, and ran to the door to look out the window. Gregor did not think it was just some animal. He was not sure why, but he felt tense, like his rager instincts were kicking in. Luxa began making her way toward her sword, which was kept near the door. Maggie opened the door to look outside.

"Maggie," Luxa hissed. "Do not go-"

"Ahhhhhh!" Maggie screamed as enormous spider legs burst through the door.


	12. Chapter 12

12

Gregor's heart froze. He wanted to run for Maggie, but he still needed to protect Lizzie. Luxa grabbed Maggie by the shirt, and threw her back into the house. Then she sliced at two of its legs before kicking it back out the door. She grabbed Gregor's sword, and ran back to the kitchen dragging Maggie behind her.

"The two of you must find a place to hide," Luxa instructed the girls. Gregor just stared at her. She just saved his sister's life, defended herself, remembered to grab his sword, and was thinking ahead to getting the girls to safety. "Gregor, pay attention!" she ordered him. He snapped back to reality.

The spinner was crawling in on the ceiling now, with two more following behind. Howard suddenly appeared, and scooped up Maggie. He grabbed Lizzie's hand, and led them to their parents' room.

"How did they get up here?" Wynnora asked while she grabbed some large kitchen knives.

"Does it matter?" Gregor did not care how they got up here. He knew they wanted to kill Luxa, and he was not about to let that happen. Howard was back now, and Wynnora passed him two knives.

"Why have they not attacked?" Luxa asked.

"Because I have not yet ordered them to do so." Stellovet stepped through the door. Her long hair was beautifully braided down her back, her sword was richly jeweled, and she walked with a swagger. Gregor thought she looked every bit the queen she wished to be. "They are here to kill you, and I thought I might come along to make sure they are successful."

"You traitor!" Luxa yelled. She ran forward, and struck out at Stellovet. The spinners leaped forward, and Gregor, Howard, and Wynnora each took one. Gregor quickly killed his spinner with a stab to the eye. He turned and saw his cousin struggling (close range fighting was not her thing), so he went to help her. He slashed through its legs, and Wynnora threw a knife straight into its eye.

They turned and saw Luxa fighting with Stellovet. They were both excellent with a sword, but Luxa was more flexible. She nimbly dodged Stellovet's strikes to move in close, then dropped down and swept her legs out from under her. In a second, Luxa was back up, and sending a jab straight for Stellovet's throat.

At some point, Howard must have retrieved his sword, because he now used it to block Luxa's attack. He shoved Luxa back, and she stared at her cousin in disbelief.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked.

"I have watched one sister die already, I cannot watch another die as well," he explained. Gregor could not place the expression on the man's face. Distress? Confusion? Pain?

"She is a traitor!" Luxa yelled.

"She is still my sister!" he yelled back. He lowered his voice. "We can arrest her, and take her back to Regalia."

Stellovet was back on her feet, and struck out at her brother. Luxa jumped to defend him, then tried to stab Stellovet. She blocked, and cut Luxa's arm. Howard attacked his sister, while simultaneously pushing Luxa back.

"Wait," Wynnora said, "What's happening?"

"I don't know if they know," Gregor admitted. The three Underlanders were all fighting each other now. Stellovet trying to kill both Howard and Luxa, Luxa defending Howard and trying to kill Stellovet, and Howard defending both of them yet still keeping Luxa at bay.

"Can you break it up?" Wynnora asked. "They're going to wreak our home." Gregor did not really care about that at the moment.

"Maybe," he said, then jumped into the fight. He focused his raged senses, and found that he could shift his attention form jugulars and tendons to hands. He put all his effort into disarming the three Underlanders. After a few moments, they each had a cut on their hand, and their swords were dropped. He turned his attention to Stellovet now, and pointed his sword to her throat.

"Do not kill her," Howard said, stepping between them. "Please. We can take her back to Regalia to be put to trial."

"Foolish brother. That will lead to my death as well," Stellovet said.

"I won't kill her, Howard. I promise," Gregor said. "Just step out of the way, so we can tie her up or something." Howard looked at him suspiciously for a moment, then stepped aside.

"Gregor, you must kill her at once," Luxa said. "She is guilty of high treason, and I sentence her to death."

"No, Luxa," Gregor said in unison with Howard.

"You are fools," Stellovet said. "I will watch you all die." With surprising quickness she grabbed something from her pocket, threw it to ground, and powder filled the air. Everyone tried to cover their mouths, but this gave Stellovet the time she needed to escape. Gregor closed his eyes, and tried to breath at little as possible. He heard water running, then someone pressed a wet cloth to his mouth. It was his father. He saw his mother pressing wet cloths to the Underlanders faces.

"Are you hurt?" Gregor's father asked. Gregor shook his head. He had actually made it through the fight with no injury. It took several minutes to make all the powder settle, then everyone went to the living room to sit.

Gregor's mother looked like she was about to unleash hell on everyone, but stopped when she saw Howard's face. He looked completely destroyed. The life was out of his eyes, and he just stared at the floor ignoring the tears flowing down his cheeks. Luxa pulled him into a hug, and he buried his face in her shoulder.

"I am so sorry," she whispered. "I am so sorry." Gregor was not sure if it was more of an apology for trying to kill his sister, or the kind you give people who just had a death in the family. Maybe a little of both.


	13. Chapter 13

13

Gregor's parents shot him a look, and he knew he should follow them for a private talk. Wynnora followed. He was not excited for what was about to come. They went into his parents' bedroom to talk. At first it appeared they did not know where to start, then Gregor's father sat on the bed, took a deep breath, and began.

"Does everyone in the Underland know how to get here?" Gregor exchanged looked with his cousin.

"Well," he began. "We thought that only a handful knew about the exit."

"You thought?" his mom cut in. "Well obviously you were wrong, because that girl just waltzed right in here."

"Grace," Gregor's father said gently. She hugged herself and began pacing. "Will anyone return?"

"I don't know," Gregor said.

"They will if they think it will help in the war," Wynnora added.

"And will it?" his mother asked. Gregor did not know what to say. He felt awful for putting his entire family in danger. He never thought this could happen.

"I. I don't know. Maybe." His voice cracked. He felt tears start to well up in his eyes. His whole family could have been killed tonight. His mother shook her head.

"Shh. Come here," she said. Gregor accepted his mother's hug. He was taller than her now, but he somehow felt small. "They'll come back because they know they can use us against you, and they think that will help their cause. Well I for one will not let a bunch of homicidal strangers force me to help them."

"If we're going to get involved, it will be on our own terms," Gregor's father added. "Now we can stay up here and wait to see if they come back, or we can go down there to help end this war. I'm sticking with the latter option." Gregor pushed away from his mom to see if his parents were serious.

"What about Lizzie and Maggie? They could get hurt."

"Well it looks like that's a possibility no matter where they are," his father said.

"I won't lie and say I want to go to the Underland," his mother added. "But I think it's the right thing to do right now if it means the possibility of stopping the people who attacked us." Gregor could not believe what he was hearing. He was both excited and horrified. Wynnora hugged her uncle.

"They won't let anything happen to the girls," she said. They walked back out into the living room, and Luxa and Howard were just walking back into the house.

"We searched the cave," Luxa explained. "Stellovet has escaped." Howard flinched at his sister's name. He turned to Gregor's mom.

"Grace, please accept my deepest apologies. I did not think anyone knew the path to your home. I did not intend for my sis-. For her to endanger your daughters." Gregor's mother held up a hand to silence him.

"Don't apologize for her," she said. "She is responsible for her own actions, and I will not hold you accountable for what she did. Now we are going to figure this out, and when the time comes, we're going back down with you." The Underlanders blinked in surprise. Gregor's sisters exchanged a look.

"You will be returning with us?" Luxa asked in disbelief.

"That's right. I want this war over, so I don't get any more attacks on my home. Now I can't do anything about Gregor getting into trouble, but you have to swear my girls won't be hurt. They will help you, but they will not be put into any dangerous situations."

"I will protect your children's lives with my own if need be," Luxa said. "You have my word."

"And you," Gregor's mom turned to Howard. "You are now their personal physician. If anything does happen to my family, _you_ will be the one to fix them."

"I would not have it any other way," Howard said.

"Good. Now how did these Isolist guys find us?" she asked. Gregor's father smiled with pride for his wife. Everyone began thinking of how the Isolists could have found the route or how they could have known Luxa was there. Only a handful of people knew about the trip, but it was possible a spy could have discovered the queen left for the Overland.

Still, how did they know about the route? The fliers detected no one following them, and they were the only ones who knew where the exit was. Did one of the fliers betray them?

"It could not have been Aurora," Luxa said firmly.

"No one accused her," Howard said gently. "It could not have been Nike either. She would not betray me."

"That leaves Hippolyta and Clio as the only two fliers who know where the exit is," Wynnora said. "One of them could have told the Isolists." Gregor shook his head.

"Hipp wouldn't do something like that."

"How can you be so sure, Gregor?" Luxa asked. "After all, her mate, Hector, betrayed us."

"But she wouldn't."

"It could be Clio," Lizzie cut in. Now Wynnora shook her head.

"But Nerissa chose her. I just don't think Nerissa would pick a traitor. She just… knows too much."

"It does not matter now. I will have a complete investigation done on them both,"Luxa said.

"You can't do that to Hipp." Gregor was so frustrated with Luxa now.

"I can, and I will," she replied firmly. Luxa sighed, then her voice softened. "You have my word that it will be a fair investigation by only my most trusted advisors. If she is clear of any offenses, I will make a formal statement clearing her name." Gregor guessed that was the best he could get, but he was still not happy. Hippolyta was already a bit of an outcast. He worried this could isolate her completely. He thought of how much Ares suffered from being ostracized. He did not want this for Hipp too.


	14. Chapter 14

14

Gregor was surprised to find four fliers waiting for them when he, his family, and the Underlanders dropped down the hole. Aurora, Nike, Hippolyta, and a flier Gregor did not know had all been sent to retrieve them by orders of Nerissa. "Of course she would know my family would be coming too," Gregor thought.

Luxa was anxious to leave, and was on Aurora in a second. She would not leave her flier again until they were back in Regalia. Gregor made her wait though, as his family adjusted. Gregor's father was actively trying to stay calm, and Maggie held his hand the whole time. His mother eyed the fliers with a slight suspicion, and kept Lizzie close. Gregor noticed that Howard buried his face in Nike's fir and stayed there for quite some time.

It took almost a half hour to get everyone situated and ready to fly. Gregor was used to making the trip in one go, but the group stopped once as his family was not used to flying. They arrived in Regalia in a few hours, and Gregor took his family to their quarters to wash up. Then he and Wynnora went to talk with Luxa, Vikus, and Ripred.

"We have much to discuss," Vikus said. "Many things have happened in your short absence."

"Can we start with where is Clio?" Wynnora asked.

"She was taken by the Isolists," Ripred explained. "We already heard about the attack on your home. Well we think they got information about finding you out of her." Wynnora tried to cover it, but Gregor saw her flinch. Did they have to torture the flier?

"Is there any possibility in retrieving her?" Luxa asked.

"Not as of yet." Luxa thought for a moment.

"Were you successful in luring out and eliminating raiding parties?"

"Yes," Vikus said. "Mareth led small teams of soldiers, and successfully imprisoned twenty Isolists. He also confiscated several messages and powder weapons. In fact, we believe we found a powder not yet encountered." Luxa nodded.

"Excellent. Hopefully Hazard and Lizzie will be able to decode the messages soon, and we will run tests to determine what effects the new powder has," she said. Gregor envied her commanding tone. "Have you distributed medication to combat the effects of the first powder we encountered?"

"Yes," Ripred answered. "The human army already has a supply, and I will have a team send it to the gnawers and fliers."

"Hold off on that," Luxa said.

"Why should I? They need it too."

"My sister might be able to get the crawlers to take it," Gregor explained. Luxa nodded. "If she can't get them to do it in two days, then you can send whoever you want." He looked at Luxa to see if it was alright for him to say that.

"It is a good plan. Vikus, have Maggie meet with the crawlers in the city now. Gregor, let us get Hazard and Lizzie started on the messages. Ripred, interrogate the Isolists to find any information useful in finding Clio. Wynn." She paused. "Please make sure my cousin does not work himself to death."

"Is that all I'm good for?" she asked. Luxa thought for a moment.

"You will first go with Vikus and Maggie to speak with the crawlers. I believe you will be useful there. Still, he will listen to you, so I want you to monitor him." Wynnora smiled at the queen.

"That's sweet. You really care about your family. Even in this mess." There was no hint of mockery in her voice.

Over the next three days, everyone worked to accomplish Luxa's orders. The crawlers responded well to Maggie. With Vikus and Wynnora working out the details of a partnership, they quickly agreed to transport the medication for the Allies. That gave Maggie the time to explore and play with the crawlers, though Vikus had two guards follow her at all times. Ripred was not very successful in getting information out of the captured Isolists, but he said he would continue interrogating them until he got what he wanted.

Gregor went back to being a royal guard for Luxa again. Together, they reintroduced Hazard and Lizzie. At first they seemed a bit hesitant around each other, but after they started working on decoding the messages, they worked great together. Liebniz, the nibbler, also worked with them. Unfortunately, that was all Regalia had in way of a decoding team. Everyone else who could have been any help betrayed the city, was kidnapped, or was killed.

Gregor spent most of his time with Luxa as he was her guard. He followed her around the city on Hippolyta (who would not have to be investigated after all) on official business. The queen had been away from her city for a week, and had a lot of catching up to do. As a result, Gregor picked up on current military strategy, the latest Isolist movements, the city's inventory, and much more. Luxa talked to him about these things often now, and he found he was becoming pretty well informed.

It was not until the fourth day that either of them could take a break. Gregor followed her back to the palace one evening, and she decided they should find their families to have dinner together. Gregor liked the idea, and as they made their way through the palace corridors, Ripred joined them.

"Have you learned anything new?" Luxa asked.

"Nothing particularly useful," Ripred admitted. "Though I did work the location of a small outpost out of a soldier." Gregor did not want to know how he "worked" that information out. "Mareth is going to attack it in six hours. Looks like I'm the only one being useful in this war."

"Oh yes," Luxa said. "Though I am not sure how difficult your work is. Five minutes with you, and the soldiers will surely tell you anything just to be away from your stench." Gregor snickered. Luxa gave him a smile.

"Now that is no way to speak to your bond," Ripred replied, pretending to be hurt. They came up to Gregor's family's quarters, and heard voices. Wynnora and Howard. Luxa held up her hand to make them stop, then they peeked through the curtain. Gregor wondered why she wanted to spy on them.

"I know you haven't been sleeping. Two days now at least," Wynnora reprimanded him. "This needs to stop." She was standing behind him while he sat on the sofa.

"Though I appreciate your company and your assistance, if you are going to speak to me in such a tone then I will have you banned from the hospital." Gergor was surprised by the edge in his voice.

"You can't just work until you forget your problems. That's not how it works. Now, I'm going to ask one more time. Will you please just get some sleep?"

"I will, when I need too," he said stubbornly. Wynnora shook her head.

"You're not cute when you're in this mood." Gregor could hear anger in her voice. "Oh well," she sighed. "I warned you." With that she stuck a needle in his arm. Howard turned and stared at her in shock before falling over on the sofa asleep. Luxa grinned and stepped into the room.

"I knew you would take care of him," the queen said happily. Wynnora looked surprised. Ripred was laughing.

"You are a sly one, Wynnie," he said.

"Oh, well you know," Wynnora shrugged. "I had to get back at him for sedating me."

"He's going to be mad at you," Gregor said.

"Do not worry." Luxa grinned. "This is good for him."


	15. Chapter 15

15

The next day Gregor and Luxa spent their time in the arena where all military planning was taking place. Mareth requested that Luxa come see him so that he may update her on his most recent attack, news about the latest powder, and he wanted to make sure she still had her sword skills. There was still a risk of assassination, and even with Gregor there to protect her, she needed to be able to defend herself.

Mareth first explained that the attack on the outpost was successful. They confiscated messages (which were taken to Lizzie and Hazard), powder weapons, and took another twenty soldiers prisoner. After that, Mareth had Luxa and Gregor spar to see if her skills were still at the expected level. Luxa was clearly offended that Mareth thought she might have softened during her trip to the Overland, and showed off the whole time. She spun and flipped through their duel, and Gregor struggled to keep up with her since he was not using his rager instincts.

Mareth also had Wynnora practicing with a sword again. She was still terrible, but Mareth insisted that she learn to use a weapon other than the bow. Howard had come to the arena an hour ago, and took over her training. He was working her hard, no doubt to get back at her for sedating him, but she was losing her patience with him. Gregor thought that everyone was on edge with the war. Everyone was fighting. He himself fought with Luxa, and he considered her his best friend.

"I'm done," Wynnora finally yelled. She threw her sword to the ground.

"You are done?" Howard asked. "I do not agree. You have not yet-"

"I'm done. I can't learn this. There is no point for me to try."

"You must learn to use a close range weapon, Wynn," Luxa cut in. "If you had known how you use a sword before, you never would have been so badly injured the first time you came to the Underland."

"Well why does it have to be a sword?"

"What else do you suggest?" Howard asked. "If you would just listen to me, you would-"

"You can use whatever you want, Wynn." Gregor thought he should defend his cousin. "If you can beat Howard with whatever it is that you pick, then you can keep it. If not, then go back to the sword."

"Well alright then," Wynnora said, and ran off to Mareth.

"She cannot defeat my cousin," Luxa said in a matter of fact tone.

"Hey." Gregor pretended to be offended. "She has had lessons up top you know. It's not just Underlanders who know how to fight."

"Oh, I know Overlanders know how to fight. It is just they do not know how to win," she replied with a smirk. If Gregor did not know her better, he would think she was being flirtatious.

"Oh really?" Gregor asked playfully. He grabbed Luxa by the waist to tickle her. She laughed, then elbowed him hard to get away. He grabbed her hand to pull her back in when he heard Howard clear his throat. They both stopped right away. Gregor felt like an idiot. Why would he think that was ok to do? Idiot. It was suspicious and could have made Luxa appear weak. He needed to watch himself.

"Ok," Wynnora said walking back over. She held her mother's sai. "Come at me, bro." Howard did not look convinced.

"I will not be easy on you," he warned.

"I didn't ask you to." He struck out at her, and she quickly dodged and hit his leg. Now he tried to keep her at a distance, but she moved in close throwing him off. Gregor thought Luxa would do great with these weapons since she was so good at fighting in close to her enemy. Wynnora shocked Howard when she caught his sword, but he over powered her quickly. She got Howard into a take down, but he threw her off, disarmed her one hand, and held his sword to her throat. She muttered some curses.

"You lose," he said.

"She may keep those," Mareth called. "Better she be somewhat skilled with those, than terrible with a sword." Howard shrugged, and Wynnora smiled triumphantly. He could not resist a smile back. Everyone practiced for a few more hours, which seemed to relieve a lot of stress and tension. Finally Mareth called them over to look at the new powder.

Gregor was surprised to find Chim there, but Howard explained that she was very knowledgeable in botany. With almost all their scientists gone, they turned to the young girl.

"We know that the powder comes from a jungle plant that causes impaired thinking and loss of inhibition," Chim explained in a soft voice. "However we do not know why it is used."

"Is it deadly?" Gregor asked.

"None of our tests resulted in death," Mareth said.

"And the plant it is derived from is not deadly," Chim added.

"We now wish to proceed with tests on prisoners."

 _Ahchoo!_ Wynnora sneezed, and the powder surrounded her face.

"I believe Wynn is your first test subject," Luxa said. "Is the powder affecting you? How do you feel?" Wynnora rubbed her nose.

"I feel fine," she said. "A little warm maybe." Howard touched her cheek to check for a fever. "Oh, your eyes are gorgeous." Wynnora clapped her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Excuse me?" Howard asked, with the faintest of smiles on his face. Luxa gave Gegor an uncomfortable look. He felt the same, and took a step closer to her.

"What. What I meant was." She bit her lip. "I meant."

"Wynn, how do you feel now?" Gregor asked.

"Uh, fuzzy? I can't really think straight and I want to talk but I can't talk because I'm going to say something stupid which I don't want to do because he's looking at me and so are you guys." She blurted it all out fast, and it did not make much sense. No one knew what to do now. Gregor had an idea.

"I want you to lie to me." Wynnora nodded. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-three," she said quickly.

"No, try to lie. Where were you born?" Wynnora bit her lip, and tried to think.

"Philadelphia," she finally said. Gregor shook his head. That was true too.

"Ok, just try not to answer," Gregor suggested. "When is your birthday?" His cousin bit her lip again, and shifted back and forth on her feet. She looked like she was holding her breath. She finally started to list British monarchs (her nervous habit, somewhat like Lizzie doing cubes), but it sounded like she was crazy.

"Ok, it's ok, Wynn." Gregor tried to comfort her. "You can tell me your birthday."

"Ah, it's April 23rd." She breathed a sigh of relief. "That was terrible I thought my head was going to explode and that would really suck."

"Well, now we know how the Isolists are getting information out of their prisoners," Gregor said.

"Have the remaining powder taken to Ripred," Luxa instructed. "It should be useful to him."


	16. Chapter 16

16

Gregor walked with his cousin back to the palace. He was going to fly back with Luxa so they could see Lizzie and Hazard together, but he thought Wynnora might need the company. She ended up talking the entire time about anything and everything. About the guy she liked when she was sixteen, about how she snuck out with her mother's car and never told anyone, about the time she told Lizzie monsters were real and felt back when she cried. Gregor had to admit, the confessions were pretty funny.

"Maybe you should be thinking of a way to suppress the urge to talk in case Regalian soldiers need to avoid saying something in the future," Gregor finally suggested. She nodded and started listing Regalian monarchs. Gregor wondered when she memorized those.

When the finally got back to Luxa's quarters, which was where Lizzie and Hazard worked, everyone was talking excitedly. Not only were Luxa and Howard there, but Vikus, Mareth, and Ripred were as well.

"Your sister did it again," Ripred said with pride.

"Oh no," Lizzie said. "It was mostly Hazard." Hazard smiled shyly and shook his head.

"Well I guess it doesn't matter who did it. The point is, they've cracked the code." Gregor smiled and was about to congratulate his sister when Wynnora interrupted.

"Oh those are my little geniuses I knew you could do it I'm so proud you're so much more useful than me you're a great help-" She slapped her hand over her mouth.

"Wynnie, you're acting weirder than usual," Ripred said.

"Never mind her," Luxa ordered. "We have messages to decode. Hazard and Lizzie have made keys for the code. Everyone take messages and begin decoding them. Report any information that may be applicable to recent events." Everyone got to it right away except for Mareth and Ripred who went to the dungeon with the new powder.

It was slow work for Gregor. He noticed that Hazard and Lizzie, who had been working with the messages for some time now, went through messages fast. Wynnora was also making quick work of decoding. Still they worked for hours with no useful information since most of the information was outdated or had already been ascertained from prisoners.

Slowly they worked on. Choosing the correct key to use (there were three that the messages switched between which had both scrambled spelling and some words from other languages), decoding the message, and then deciding if there was anything useful to it. Gregor was exhausted, but he knew the others were to. He would not quit until they did. The only person enjoying herself was Wynnora who was happy the distraction kept her from blurting out more confessions.

Now Lizzie and Hazard were asleep on sofas, Vikus tried to stretch his sore back, and Luxa had grown so bored she was barely decoding any messages at all. Finally Gregor came across a message containing plans for an attack on Regalia. Was this recent, or had the plans passed already?

"Ugh, which pile did I get this from?" he grumbled.

"This one," Howard said, gesturing lazily to the pile next to him. "We are working on the messages retrieved by Mareth right after we left for the Overland."

"Oh," Gregor mumbled. He was tired, and it was difficult to think. That was twelve days ago. Maybe a bit less. He looked back at the decoded message. "Assemble outside Regalian outer circle two weeks," he mumbled. So this was taken about twelve days ago, and it plans to attack in two weeks. Fourteen days. Gregor's eyes widened.

"Luxa," he said urgently. "Luxa look." She looked over at him lazily.

"Yes, what is it?"

"An attack. The Isolists are planning to attack Regalia in just a couple days."


	17. Chapter 17

17

Things happened fast. Gregor was reminded that he really did not understand the workings of Regalia as he watched the Underlanders call for preparations for battle. He was also reminded of how great Luxa worked under pressure. The young queen coordinated everyone's tasks like a master conductor in front of an orchestra.

"Aurora, have Mareth prepare plans for an upcoming battle. I want to see them in two hours. Have word taken to the kitchen that supplies must be stored in the event citizens are housed in the palace," she added to a servant. "Then have word sent to have as many crops as possible harvested immediately. Howard, yo-" She stopped when she saw her cousin was already heading to the hospital.

"I will make preparations, and have plans for distribution of medical supplies and personnel as well as a chosen location for the wounded in one hour." With that he left.

"Luxa," Vikus interrupted. Gregor forgot he was there. "Take a moment to think. Most citizens are now asleep"

"We have no time to think. Have everyone who is needed awakened"

"The Isolists don't plan to attack for two days," Gregor said. "I know that's not a lot of time, but-"

"They could attack any second now," Wynnora cut in. "Mareth took that message two weeks ago, but we don't know when the message was actually written."

"You are correct," Luxa said. "So we have no time to think. Vikus, go oversee the harvesting of the crops. I will oversee our army's preparations. Gregor, you have matters to think of. Take an hour to consider them, then join me in the arena." With that she left with her grandfather.

Gregor knew she meant he had to think of his family. He did not want them in the city if there was to be a major attack. Then again, if he tried to send them home now they could be hurt during the trip. Or the attack could happen just as they were leaving. Or the Isolists could send more assassins to their home. Gregor rubbed his head and plopped into a seat.

"Would you like me to take your family to the exit?" Hippolyta asked from the window. Gregor tried to think of what to do, but it was difficult since he was already thinking about where soldiers should be placed to best defend against the attack.

"Wynn, what do you think?" he finally asked. She looked to where Lizzie and Hazard still slept and bit her lip.

"I would keep them here. Who knows what could happen on their trip back, or what could happen once they get home." She shook her head. "I don't want them to get hurt in a battle, but they can find a safe place for your family. I know Luxa cares for them. She won't let them get hurt if she can help it." Gregor nodded.

"Thanks, Hipp, but I want my family close by." Hippolyta nodded in approval. "Can you take me to the arena?"

"Of course." He walked to the window to get on the flier, then stopped.

"What are you going to do?" he asked his cousin. She laughed nervously.

"Well, I'm kind of useless right now, but no worries. I'll find something to help with." Gregor wanted to help her find somewhere to help, but decided it would be best to go to Luxa. He said goodbye, and left for the arena.

They worked for hours without sleeping preparing plans for the expected battle. Luxa made them consider all possibilities, and there were a lot. Like the Allies, the Isolists included humans, gnawers, fliers, and spinners. They had to think of strategies to combat any combination of these groups.

Gregor reminded Luxa that she could ask the crawlers to send messages to the other Allies requesting additional support. The crawlers were so inconspicuous that they were never attacked on these journeys. There could fit dozens of them in a tunnel, and not even echolocations could find them. They just appeared to be rocks. Gregor was sure they would get the messages out.

Luxa sent out a request for additional support, though she also warned that any Allied settlement could be attacked as well. She understood if they needed to keep their soldiers to protect their citizens. Gregor hoped the Allies would send help. Regalia's army had decreased in size as soldiers left to join the Isolists, were taken prisoner, or killed.

It was not until after lunch time that Gregor got to talk to his family. By that time they had already heard of the attack. Gregor's mother wanted to get the girls out of the city immediately, but his father helped explain the dangers in that. Luxa said that Gregor's family could stay with Hazard in specially chosen quarters that were both secure but still provided exits in case of an emergency escape. They would also have guards. It was the best Gregor could hope for, and his mother seemed to understand it was their best option.

Maggie and Lizzie, for their part, were handling the situation well. They were working with Hazard to decode more messages in search of any more useful information. They noticed that prisoners names were occasionally mentioned, and they began compiling a list of names. So many people had disappeared recently that it was difficult to tell who were traitors and who were actually just prisoners of war. The list would help with that.

Gregor knew this would not be a surprise attack. If Regalia had not found the message, it certainly would have been unexpected, but it would not be a rapid surprise attack. In late evening, the first Regalian scouts came to the palace with news of the approaching Isolist army. Luxa called for everyone to take their position, and prepare to defend the city.


	18. Chapter 18

18

Gregor stood with Luxa and the other leaders in the High Hall. They received their final instructions and left. Vikus was to maintain order amongst the citizens (they had been evacuated from the city and were being guarded in the lower levels of the palace), Mareth left to begin moving soldiers into place, Howard left to give final instructions to medical staff and then lead his soldiers. Ripred wanted to be on the front line, and look a group of gnawers with him.

"I will wait here, in the High Hall, so that I may see how the battle plays out. That will determine where I am needed," Luxa said to Gregor. "Though you are my personal guard, you may join the others in the city." Gregor thought about this for a moment. There were a group of soldiers there to protect her if she needed it. He looked to Hippolyta who looked like she wanted to be in the fight, no doubt to prove her loyalty.

"You'll be ok?" he asked. The queen gave him the slightest of smiles, which meant a lot considering she did not smile in situations like this.

"Aurora and I will be just fine." Gregor smiled back at her. Still, he did not want to go. He knew full well this could be the last time he saw her, and he wanted a proper good bye just in case. He glanced around the hall and saw that everyone was distracted with pre-battle preparations. Gregor took a deep breath, mustered all the courage he could, then kissed the queen on the cheek. Luxa's face flushed and her eyes flared, and Gregor knew he should run away now.

"Fly you high, Your Highness," he said quickly as he climbed on Hippolyta. "Hipp," Gregor thought to himself. "Hipp saw. Crap."

"You would do better being injured in battle than return to the consequences that you face with me," Luxa warned in a threatening tone. She was trying to cover a smile. "Fly you high." Hippolyta took off.

"The audacity of you Overlanders," Hippolyta said as they flew to the front line.

"Don't tell anyone."

"Oh I will not for you most surely will be exiled. You must think next time, Gregor."

"I did think. I thought a lot. Luxa is my best friend, and I wanted to say goodbye just in case." Hippolyta scoffed at him.

"Best friend," she mumbled to herself. "That is not how friends behave." Gregor took the lecture, but he thought that she sounded slightly amused too. Well they could talk about it later. Now the landed next to Ripred and the other gnawers.

"When will they attack," Gregor asked Ripred.

"Why don't you go ask them if you're in such a rush?" Some of the gnawers snickered. Gregor rolled his eyes. They all stood at the opening of the tunnel the Isolists would be coming through. Humans and fliers would take up the fight when the gnawers' line was inevitably broken. Other human and flier pairs were closer to the palace to protect all those inside, and some were placed in in front of other entrances in case smaller Isolist groups entered through them.

It was a good plan, but something did not feel right. Gregor felt exposed. He looked around. All the entrances were covered, the palace, the city. Why were his rager senses kicking in as if he were defenseless? Suddenly he realized, and looked up. The ceiling. With the spinners, the ceiling was fair game. They had completely left out an entrance path in their planning. Gregor got back on Hippolyta, and asked her to find the closest army captain.

"Where are you running off to, boy?" Ripred called to him. "The front line too much for you now?"

"Don't worry, Ripred," Gregor replied with a grin. "I'll be back to protect you in a minute." Hippolyta found a captain, and Gregor asked him for powder weapons. During preparations, Allied stores of powder weapons, as well as medication to fight the dizzying one, were distributed amongst the captains for the army to use.

"What use have you for them?" the Underlander asked. Gregor pointed up.

"The ceiling. We left the ceilings open. Put soldiers up there in case spinners enter from the top. Have messages sent to the others that they need to block the tops of the tunnels too." Gregor was surprised by the commanding tone in his voice. He worried that he had stepped out of line. He considered adding please at the end, but the soldiers listened and did as they were told. "Did Luxa give me some sort of authority?" Gregor wondered. He could figure it out later. Now he flew back to the gnawers.

Gregor had Hippolyta take a position at the top corner of the tunnel, just inside the opening. All human and flier soldiers had been fitted with masks beforehand, and now he and Hippolyta pulled their masks across their face to lessen the effects of the powder. The gnawers needed to use their teeth to fights, so they could not use masks. By waiting inside the tunnel, Gregor hoped the powder would not fall on them. There he waited with powder balls in hand.

In the darkness, he heard scuffling in the distance. Then he felt vibrations in the rock wall beside him. They were traveling on the ceiling like he expected. The vibrations got stronger, and he could just make out the first spinner with his echolocation. There were humans and gnawers below as well. It took all of Gregor's courage not to throw the balls now. He wanted to throw them and retreat back to the gnawers, but he had to wait for the Isolists to get closer. "Wait for it. Just wait," Gregor told himself.

They were only thirty yards from him now. Twenty. Ten. Five. He threw the powder weapons hard and watched the powder burst around the spinners then shower down on the humans and gnawers below.


	19. Chapter 19

19

The powder effect was almost immediate. The spinners on the ceiling lost most, if not all, of their coordination, and fell to the ground on top of the humans and gnawers below. Gregor stayed a moment within in the tunnel entrance, and watched as the Isolists were crushed under the weight of the huge spiders. Gregor knew the powder would only effect these first soldiers, and more would be coming. Hippolyta leapt from the ledge they were on and flew back to the gnawers.

"Don't go in there!" Ripred yelled at the gnawers. "The powder will make you as useless as them. Wait for the rest of the army to follow through." Gregor waited on Hippolyta watching as the disoriented Isolists squirmed inside the tunnel. Many were already dead from being crushed, most were badly injured. He tried to push from his mind what he had just done. Right now he had to think about the army that was approaching.

The rest of the Isolists were trying to push through the piles of bodies, but it only kicked up more powder. More soldiers fell to the ground from the effects of the powder. It did not take long, however, for the army to realize what was happening. Their soldiers put on masks, and shoved through the bodies.

The first soldier to get through, a human, was immediately picked up by Hippolyta and dropped. Ripred called for them to attack, and the gnawers leapt forward to tear apart the soldiers that follower. Hippolyta swooped down into the battle, and Gregor cut the leg of a gnawer. She brought up a spinner with her, and dropped it. Another swoop down and Gregor sliced the arms of two humans. Cuts like that would eliminate them from fighting.

Though the Allies had the initial advantage, the Isolists had greater numbers. Most of the army was spinners since they had gained the support of almost all the spinners during the coup. It did not take long for their large numbers to break the gnawer line.

"Fall back!" Ripred ordered. "Bring them round!" That meant bring them around to be ambushed by the awaiting humans and fliers. The gnawers darted in different directions with incredible speed. Gregor thought Ripred really picked a good batch of warriors with these guys, and he had trained them well. The gnawers led the Isolists straight to the humans, but by that time the Isolist had sent in their human and flier pairs.

Gregor had never fought another human and flier pair before, so he let his rager instincts figure it out. Hippolyta dove and swerved perfectly through them, getting Gregor close enough to attack. He quickly figured out he had to either injure the flier to make it fall, or throw the human off to make the flier try to catch them. It was cruel, but what choice did he have? Hippolyta swerved by a flier, and Gregor sliced its shoulder, sending it to the ground. She dove for another flier, and Gregor jumped on, threw off the human, and rolled back onto Hippolyta. They worked great as a team.

For a brief moment, Gregor was disgusted with himself. He was proud of the work he and Hipployta were doing, but that work was killing. A dizzying wave of nausea came over him, and he lost all focus in the battle. That was all it took. A flier dove in, and he was not focused enough to protect Hippolyta. The flier locked in a fight with Hipp in the air, while its rider grabbed onto Gregor and threw him off. Gregor was now racing to the ground, and he knew there was no way he could survive a fall from this height.

Suddenly, he landed roughly on a flier and rolled off, then he landed on another flier and rolled off. He felt a sharp pain in his side. He hit three more fliers before finally crashing to the ground. An excruciating pain shot through his shoulder, and combined with the pain in his side, Gregor found he could hardly breathe. Fortunately the fighting was lighter here. He laid there hoping the pain would go away and he could fight again.

Several hands scooped him up, and dragged him somewhere. Gregor cried out in pain and tried to fight back. How had he kept a hold of his sword during the fall? It did not matter he just knew he could not be taken by the enemy.

"Gregor!" He recognized the voice, but was in too much pain to make sence of it.

"Gregor calm yourself. I must put your shoulder back in place." The voice was trying to help, so Gregor stopped fighting, "Are you ready?" Before Gregor could give his answer, he heard a pop, felt a sharp pain through his shoulder, then relaxed as the pain quickly receded. He opened his eyes.

"Oh, it's you," he said, panting. "Back on doctor duty."

"They could not keep me from it," Howard said. "Are you well enough to fight?" It was Gregor's left shoulder that was hurt, he could still use his sword arm.

"Yeah," he answer. "But I need Hipp." He felt a breeze. Hippolyta had landed beside him.

"I am here, Gregor. Now stop laying around, and be useful." Gregor was relieved she was ok. He got back up, climbed on Hippolyta, and rejoined the fight. He did not let his guard down any more, and focused only on defending himself and Hippolyta. He did not think about the life he was taking, just about the lives he was trying to protect. It was kill or be killed. Gregor let his rager senses take over, and did not let Hippolyta get hurt again for the remainder of the battle.

Gregor fought in the city the whole time, though he heard Isolists had gotten into the palace. He knew other soldiers could drive them out since Mareth was leading them in there. It seemed to Gregor that this was not the Isolists full army, and so the Allies were successful in driving back their forces. It took several hours, but the Isolists were finally forced to retreat from Regalia.


	20. Chapter 20

20

 _Whack!_ Luxa slapped him right in the face

"Ow!" Gregor said with a mix of anger and annoyance. Luxa, who was now covered in dirt and blood, just raised her chin.

"I explained that there would be consequences. What are you all standing there for?" she barked at the Underlanders around her. "What news have you for me?"

"We have successfully driven the Isolists out of Regalia, Your Highness," Mareth said, stepping forward and sounding a bit confused about what he just saw. "I have several teams searching the city for any that may be left behind. Shall I have the army pursue the enemy's retreat?"

"I think not," Luxa replied. "That was clearly not their full army, and I do not wish to be lead into a trap. Have scouts sent out in five hours to gather information about their location. Have we news on how many are injured?"

"Your cousin is still working on that," Ripred said. "Now why did you slap our Warrior here?"

"That is none of your concern."

"Well, I'm not convinced he deserved it. After all, we would not have been so successful without him." Gregor was startled that Ripred actually praised him. "Maybe he was affected by the powder," Gregor thought to himself.

"And how exactly was he so useful?" Mareth, who had apparently heard by now, explained how Gregor significantly slowed down the Isolist army with the powder weapons thrown from the ceiling. The soldiers in the High Hall nodded in approval.

"Excellent work, Gregor," Luxa said briskly, then carried on with other matters. Gregor helped contribute information, so that the group could get a full picture of the battle. Apparently, the Isolists had gotten into the palace, but Mareth and Luxa lead the soldiers inside, and were able to drive out the enemy. No civilians were badly injured. Gregor breathed a sigh of relief that his family was safe.

It took a couple hours, but Luxa finally determined that they had discussed the battle enough. She dismissed everyone, and Luxa told Gregor to get stitched up where needed and wash. She would go with him to see his family and Hazard. Gregor agreed happily as he was actually in a lot of pain since he no longer had a battle to distract him. He stopped down with Howard to make sure all his bones were in place, and he stitched the one bad cut Gregor had on his calf (he did not even remember it happening).

After he washed up, he met Luxa in front of her quarters, and walked through the corridors with her. There were some civilians walking through as well, and Luxa nodded to each one. A small girl walked up to the queen shyly, and handed her a small beaded necklace, and Luxa accepted it with a smile. The girl skipped a way happily. Gregor loved seeing her like this. It was much better than when she slapped him.

They finally came to the quarters Gregor's family and Hazard were staying in, and Gregor's mother immediately hugged him and did not let go for five minutes. They were all worried about him. Gregor strained his neck to look at Luxa, and saw her hugging Hazard who looked so scared for her.

"Where is Nerissa?" Luxa asked after several minutes. "I thought she was to be with you." Hazard shook his head.

"No, I thought she was in her council room."

"I had that room checked. She is not there." Luxa looked concerned now.

"Maybe she's with Wynn," Gregor suggested. "They do talk a lot. Where did Wynn go?" His family looked at each other.

"We thought she was with you," Maggie said. Lizzie nodded. Now Gregor was worried.

"Would it be bad to have the city searched?" he asked.

"I do not think so," Luxa said. She called for two Underlanders, and gave them a message for Mareth to search the city for their cousins.

"How hurt are you?" His mother asked. "Did you go get fixed up? Will you have to go back out there again?"

"I'm fine. And no, I don't have to go back out there right now." Gregor tried to sound relaxed.

"And you?" his mother asked, turning to Luxa. "How bad off are you?" She looked the queen over, making sure there were no significant injuries on her. Gregor covered his face in embarrassment, but he did think it was kind of funny.

"I am just fine, Grace. You need not concern yourself." Luxa looked uncomfortable. "Gregor, we really must be going." Gregor nodded, hugged his family one more time, and followed Luxa out.

They walked down the corridor until they were alone, then Luxa slowed down. Gregor tried to think of something to say.

"Any news about the serpents?"

"Oh, yes. I have two people with them now, and they believe they can convince the serpents to help us. I think they will be very good allies." Awkward silence. Gregor racked his brain for something else to talk about, but all he could think of was Luxa.

"Why did you kiss me?" Luxa asked. The question was painfully direct.

"Uh." It was all Gregor could manage. He felt his face growing hot. "Because I'm stupid."

"Yes," Luxa replied. "That would explain it." She stopped walking and turned to him with the prettiest smile. He could not keep from smiling back, and took her hand. She started to say something else, when they heard someone coming down the hallway. Luxa quickly let go of his hand, and Gregor stepped away from her. Mareth turned the corner.

"Luxa," he said, panting. "Nerissa has been kidnapped by the Isolists."


	21. Chapter 21

21

"She was taken? How do you know this?" Luxa demanded.

"I had scouts sent out to search the area surrounding the city." Mareth explained. "The Isolist troops are positioned north outside the outer circle. My soldiers reported back that both Nerissa and Wynnora are being held." Gregor felt himself grow cold. They had Wynn. "We believe the Isolists will make a trade offer soon. The women for the prisoners we have now."

Luxa did not reply immediately. She was thinking hard, no doubt weighing her options. Gregor knew they could make the trade, but that would be helping the enemy. They could not make the trade, but he knew they could never abandon their cousins. For a moment, Gregor realized he was thinking in terms of _they_ , but this was _her_ decision. Luxa's decision. Not theirs together. He looked to her now.

"I cannot give the Isolists what they demand. Not only would it make me appear weak, but I would also lose a valuable asset," Luxa said.

"But we can't leave our family," Gregor reminded her. The queen nodded, and pushed up her crown.

"Mareth, is a successful rescue mission possible?" Mareth thought a moment before answering.

"With a small, well trained party, I believe it possible to rescue them," he finally said.

"Excellent." Gregor knew she made up her mind. "I want Gregor, Hippolyta, and Ripred included. Aurora and I will also go."

"Your Highness, I must protest t-" Luxa held up a hand to silence him.

"Nerissa is my family, and I will personally see to her safety. I will not hear your objections. If you are truly worried for my safety, then you will be certain the other soldiers you select are highly skilled." That was the final word. The plans were made, the party was chosen, and they were on their way in a few hours. Everyone hurried the mission as they were all concerned about what information the enemy could get out of the women as well as the techniques they would use.

Gregor was worried sick over his cousin and Nerissa. He tried not to think about what the enemy might do to them, but his mind kept drifting to the idea. He was relieved he had no time to tell his family about what happened: he did not want them to worry like this. He forced himself to focus on the task at hand, and reviewed the plan. He would be with Luxa and Ripred on the ground. They would wait for Mareth's troops to get into positions above, then they would attack and flee as fast as possible.

It did not take long to get close to the Isolists. The party landed just inside the outer circle. Mareth took his troops the long way round to sneak in from above, while Gregor, Luxa, and Ripred would walk the rest of the way. They crept forward silently through the dark tunnel. Luxa held onto Gregor to guide her through the pitch black. As they neared the Isolist campsite, the army's lights allowed her to see. They crouched behind a boulder at the cave opening, and looked inside.

Wynnora stood before several Underlanders with her hands tied behind her back while Nerissa sat beside her muttering to herself. Wynnora was bloody and dirty from battle, but Nerissa's dress and skin were only a little dirty. Gregor thought she looked totally out of place.

"Cease your mumbling," an Underlander spat at Nerissa.

"She obviously can't," Wynnora said. "You might as well stop asking questions. She doesn't know anything, and even if she did, she's too far gone to answer."

"Silence, Overlander!"

"Calm yourself, Rodrith." Stellovet stepped forward gracefully. "Nerissa will be of no use to us for information. However, the Overlander may be of value." She smiled at Wynnora. Gregor hated that smile. He should have killed her.

"Can we get them out now?" Gregor asked. He was almost touching Luxa so she could hear his quiet whisper. She shook her head, and pointed to the ceiling. Mareth was not in place yet. Gregor knew they had to get his cousin out of there before she was hurt or revealed some important information. She knew so much of the Allied plans, not to mention useful information about Regalia, quite possibly more than Gregor knew.

"What would I know? I'm just a weirdo from upstairs," Wynnora said. She was trying to sound casual, but Gregor heard her voice shake slightly.

"Oh, do not be so humble. My brother told me much about you. I have no doubt you have very valuable information."

"Shall I retrieve the powder for the interrogation?" Rodrith asked.

"No, I think not." Stelloevet's voice was too sweet. "I would very much enjoy getting the information in the traditional way."

"We need to get her," Gregor hissed in Luxa's ear. They had to wait for Mareth. The queen shook her head firmly. Gregor watched Stellovet draw an ornate dagger.

"These are the rules," Stellovet explained. "I will ask a question. If you should refuse to answer, or if you should lie, I will cut you. After five rounds, we will proceed to breaking bones. Is that clear?" She smiled.

"Perfectly," Wynnora mumbled.

"What is Luxa planning to do next?"

"Your mom."

"The Overlander speaks in riddles!" Rodrith yelled, and the other soldiers muttered in confusion. Stellovet ignored them, and in a smooth motion, cut deep into Wynnora's arm. She cried out in pain, while Nerissa muttered louder to herself. Gregor checked the ceiling. No soldiers yet.

"How many of our weapons do the Allies still have?" Wynnora answered in Japanese. It was probably nothing good. Stellovet cut deep in Nerissa's arm, but the woman hardly seemed to notice.

"You said you would cut me for wrong answers. Stop breaking the rules," Wynnora said. Stellovet giggled.

"You are very childish."

"I don't know why everyone keeps saying that. I'm an adult. I file my own taxes." _Smack._ Stellovet slapped her across the face.

"We need to get them," Gregor hissed in Luxa's ear. He could not stand seeing this. Stellovet asked another question, leading to a cut on the neck. A fourth question with a cut to the leg. A fifth question, then a cut near the rib. Wynnora was being worn out. Where was Mareth? Gregor could not stay quiet any longer. He knew Luxa would be mad with him, but he had to stop this.


	22. Chapter 22

22

Stellovet now took Wynnora's arm, and place her hand at the elbow. Gregor stepped out from behind the boulder as Stellovet prepared to break his cousin's arm.

"Hey guys," he said nervously. All eyes in the cave went to him. "Just dropped by here to get Wynn and Nerissa."

"Seize him!" Stellovet ordered.

"Hold on, hold on," he said putting his hands up. "You don't want to do that." The soldiers looked confused and stopped rushing toward him.

"And why is that, Overlander?"

"You think I would come here alone? I mean, I know I'm the warrior. And a rager," he gave the soldiers a threatening smile. "But I wouldn't come here without back up. You are currently surrounded by Regalian soldiers."

"You lie," Stellovet hissed. Gregor ignored her.

"You alright, Wynnie?" he asked his cousin.

"I've been better." Her voice shook in pain.

"Oh good. Well I'm just going to wrap things up here, and then we can be on our way." He knew he was irritating Stellovet.

"Do not ignore me, you insolent fools!" Stellovet screamed. "My soldiers see no one in the area. You are alone, and we do not need you for a prisoner. Kill him!" The soldiers rushed forward, and just as Gregor was slashing the hip of the first human soldier, Mareth's troops dropped in from the ceiling to take up the fight. "Just in time," Gregor thought with relief.

Gregor let the Regalians handle to fighting. He needed to find his cousin. He shoved through the chaos to her, and cut her hands free.

"We need to get out of here," he said.

"Take Nerissa, I'll be right with you," she replied, then ran to another area of the cave. Gregor could not chase after her with Nerissa, so he pulled out his flashlight to signal for Hippolyta. The flier landed next to him within a few seconds, and he pushed Nerissa onto her.

"Ignore the fighting," Gregor said, as he climbed up. "We need to get Nerissa to safety."

"What about your cousin?" Hippolyta asked as she raised from the ground. Gregor looked down at the skirmish below.

"They'll get her out. Let's go."

They sped for the exit, and Hippolyta alerted the other fliers that Nerissa was safe. It did not take long to get back to the palace. It was a very quick mission. Gregor waited a few minutes in the High Hall until Luxa and Aurora landed.

"Cousin, how fare you?" The queen rushed to her cousin and inspected her arm. Nerissa mumbled something about knowing this would happen and getting Wynn into trouble. "I shall take you to Howard, he will help you." She spoke to Nerissa as if she were a child. "Where is Wynnora?"

"I don't know," Gregor admitted. "I had to get Nerissa out. I was relying on the soldiers to get her out."

"I am certain they will." Gregor followed Luxa to her chambers. She had a messenger go find Howard and bring him there. Nerissa was unharmed except for the one slash on her upper arm. It would seem that this would be Nerissa's first scar, and this angered Gregor. It was not that he minded scars, in fact he thought Luxa looked even more beautiful with all her's, but Nerissa was innocent. She never fought, she never planned a battle, she never raised her voice. Yet she would always be marked by this war.

Howard came into the room. Luxa stopped him from reprimanding them both for not telling him about what happened or the mission. He knelt beside Nerissa, and very gently talked to her until she calmed down. Then he began stitching her arm.

Now Wynnora walked in with Ripred without a word. She plopped on a sofa paying no mind to the fact they she was bleeding all over it.

"Wynnie went to get Clio back, and I had to save her butt," Ripred grumbled. She glared at him.

"Wynn, are you ok?" Gregor asked. She gave him a dirty look too.

"No."

"Good answer, Wynnie. Though it could do without the attitude," Ripred said.

"Oh shut up. I'm done with you. And you guys too." Wynnora gestured at the Regalians. "I'm done with helping in this war. I'm done with being underground. I'm done with fighting for you." Luxa appeared shocked that she would talk to her like that. Howard just looked hurt. Gregor had no idea what to say.

"Oh boo hoo," Ripred said, his tone dripping in sarcasm. "You got cut up and now you're sad. We don't want to hear it. There are soldiers worse off than you, so why don't you be quiet."

"I'm not a soldier. I'm not even from here. I shouldn't be tortured for your sake."

"You were tor-" Howard was cut off.

"That was hardly torture."

"Stop. Both of you." Gregor finally said. "We're not going to fight. Wynn, you don't have to do anything. Ripred, stop comparing people." Howard moved to Wynnora and began stitching her cuts. She looked pale, so Gregor figured she already lost a lot of blood.

"Did Stellovet do this?" Howard asked quietly. His voice cracked at her name.

"Yes." He nodded, and looked close to crying. Wynnora's face softened, and she sighed before wrapping him in a hug. He buried his face in her shoulder. Gregor's cousin waved them away, so he lead Luxa, her cousin, and Ripred out of the room. Ripred took Nerissa back to her room, leaving Gregor alone with Luxa.

"It appears your cousin does not know what she wants to do," Luxa said.

"Yeah. I know the feeling."

"So you also feel as though you should not have to fight for our sake?" Gregor shrugged.

"Sometimes."

"Then why do you?" She looked him right in the eyes. Gregor did not know what to say. What would be appropriate to say to a queen? Or was she just Luxa right now?

"A lot of reasons," he said, taking her hand. She smiled weakly at him.

"You never get the appreciation you deserve. Thank you for everything." Luxa raised to her toes and kissed Gregor lightly on the cheek. His heart beat like a drum in his chest, and he wanted to kiss her right then and there. "Now, we have much to do," Luxa said in her usual brisk tone, pulling him back to reality.


	23. Chapter 23

23

The battle had taken its toll on both the Allies and the Isolists (during the attack on Regalia, there was also an attack on the gnawers); therefore, there was no more fighting for the next couple days. Gregor followed Luxa around as her guard for the most part, assisting her in assessing damage.

He also made sure to leave time for his family. His sisters were shaken up from the battle, his mother was angry that no one was sure if it was safe for them to return home, and Gregor's father's anxiety was becoming a problem. He would not be able to handle being in the Underland for much longer.

A few days after the battle, Gregor was sitting with his sisters and Wynnora in their quarters. His cousin was finally cheering up after being kidnapped, but she still was not completely herself yet.

"You've been doing a lot of…" Maggie tried to think of the word she wanted. "Grown up stuff? Yeah. Maybe you should relax." Lizzie nodded in agreement.

"Or just act like the teenager you are. We kind of miss that," she said. Gregor felt bad for not being the fun older brother they both wanted.

"Well," he said, trying to be cheery. "What would you suggest?" His sisters looked at each other and giggled.

"Let's talk about girls," Maggie said with a smile.

"Oh great," Wynnora mumbled rubbing her eyes.

"Girls?" Gregor asked, a little scared.

"Yeah. You know," Lizzie jumped in. "You've been hanging out with Luxa a lot."

"I wouldn't call it 'hanging out'. You two shouldn't joke about this."

"We're not joking," Maggie said. "And maybe you're not hanging out, but you liikkee her." The girls giggled. He buried his face in his hands.

"You two behave yourselves before you get him into trouble," Wynnora reprimanded them.

"Trouble?" Lizzie asked. "Why? Because she's from the Underland and he's not?"

"That's racist," Maggie said, with a wise nod.

"Yes. And other reasons." Wynnora could not keep a smile from her face. "Like she's too good for him." The girls giggled again.

"You guys are terrible," Gregor said into his hands. "Luxa is my friend."

"Why are you speaking of me?" Luxa asked. Gregor's head snapped up, and felt his face grow hot. Howard was standing behind her looking suspiciously at him.

"Oh nothing," Maggie said with a big grin that made it obvious she was lying. Luxa eyed her.

"Very well," she said. "Gregor, I came here to tell you that we are close to making a deal with the serpents. I believe we they will agree to help so that we may use their forces to increase our numbers to fight the Isolists."

"Is that the _only_ reason you came?" Maggie asked.

"Ok, enough of that. Go play with Hazard," Gregor said. He shooed his sisters away, and heard them laughing as they walked down the corridor. "Alright, back to you. I don't know if that is the best plan, but if this is the plan you want then I'll support it. I just think you should be cautious." He said it all fast, and refused to look at the queen.

"Yes," she replied in a confused tone. "I expected you to say something like that." They discussed using the serpents to fight the Isolists for a while, but Gregor was still distracted by what his sisters' had said. He did not like the idea of using them, but he finally just agreed they needed all the help they can get.

"You may not need them, Luxa," Wynnora said. "'Unexpected friends arrive' could just mean Gregor's sisters. Or the crawlers."

"Yes, you are correct. However I truly believe we will need another ally in battle to win this war."

"I know this is kind of a weird topic, and shouldn't really be talked about during war," Wynnora began. "But how does marriage work down here?"

"Two people commit themselves to each other for life," Howard said plainly.

"Yeah. I got that. But are marriages arranged? Do you pick? Is there dating? Are there laws against Overland-"

"There are no laws against that," Luxa said quickly. Gregor sank in his seat, and refused to look at Luxa. "Marriages are not arranged; however, some pairings are strongly encouraged or discouraged. As queen, and Howard as he is highly ranked, there is a trial time of courting. During this time officials and family determine if the suitor is worthy, and well. I suppose you may consider this 'dating,' in a way, if I understand it correctly."

"Why do you ask?" Howard said. The question was directed at Wynnora, but he was giving Gregor a dirty look.

"Well because I'm interested in you, cutie," Wynnora said, smiling at him. It got Howard's attention. She gave Gregor a quick glance, and he silently thanked her for distracting the Underlander.

"I see the two of you have much to discuss," Luxa said. "So Gregor and I will now excuse ourselves." Gregor was on his feet, and heading out of the awkward situation before anyone could object. Luxa finally caught up to him in an empty hallway.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Gregor asked.

"It would appear you are interested in marriage," she replied in her brisk tone.

"Oh me? No that w-"

"I thought I might make clear suitor qualifications. The suitor must be male and preferably close to my own age. He must have an understanding of diplomatic matters, have relationships with highly ranked members of both human and non-human officials, and be a useful advisor in all areas. He must understand the workings of both Regalia and the Fount. He must be skilled with a sword as well as battle planning. He must be highly regarded by both Regalian officials and citizens." She listed these off as if they were a lunch order. "These are just the basic expectations, and do not reflect my personal preferences. Now come, I wish for you to assist me in checking the city's stores of supplies."

Gregor nodded and followed her, but he was completely overwhelmed. Luxa's future husband had insanely high expectations. Then again, nowhere in the list did she say he had to be an Underlander. "Of course he has to be an Underlander," Gregor reprimanded himself. Besides, there was no way he could do all that other stuff.

Or could he? He was already starting. Luxa had him constantly involved in Regalian affairs. Did that not qualify him? "Stop it. Stop it," he told himself. "She told you that stuff to scare you away. Put you in your place." Or did she? Maybe she was trying to give him the qualifications he needed to be a suitor. The idea excited him.

"No," he told himself. "There is no way. Besides, this is not the thing to think about while there is a war to fight." Still, she did just smile at him over her shoulder. "Luxa, The Queen of Regalia, just smiled at _me_ ," Gregor thought to himself in satisfaction.


	24. Chapter 24

24

"Look, all I'm saying is that the crawlers could help fight," Gregor said.

"They are perfectly useless in battle." Luxa was losing her temper after hours of fighting. "You waste our time by even trying to make this point."

"Evaluating all options is never a waste of time, Luxa. And they may not be useless. We don't know how the serpents fight, so _they_ may not be useful."

"They are huge creatures with sharp fangs and venom. Explain to me how that is not useful!" Gregor was aware of everyone in the room awkwardly watching them fight. Luxa had called a meeting to discuss the best way to use the serpent support, Wynnora, Ripred, Mareth, and everyone's fliers were there.

Gregor had been thinking of ways to use the crawlers for some time since he was convinced they would be the ones to help. He knew they were nearly impossible to detect in the darkness and that they had a large population. He also knew that he could get their support with Maggie's help. He was not too sure how well they fought though. Still, he tried bringing his ideas up at the meeting, and was being shot down.

"We don't know them. They may not take orders well. They may be cowardly. They may betray us," Gregor said. "We know the crawlers, and we know Maggie can get them to help. They are almost impossible to find in the dark, so we could have the enemy surrounded before even starting an attack."

"And who is going to attack," Ripred asked. "The crawlers? They're useful for a lot of things, but fighting is not one of them."

"How do you know?" Wynnora asked. "Have you ever seen them fight?"

"The crawlers do not participate in battles," Mareth explained. "We do not know of their capabilities, but without practice, we can only assume they have no skill in fighting."

"You could ask them."

"We do not have time for this," Luxa said. She was clearly angry. "I do not wish to hear any more of this nonsense. We will seek aid from the serpents, and they can be here in two weeks to attack."

"Two weeks?" Gregor nearly yelled. "Then probably another two weeks or more to plan the attack. We don't have time for this. The Isolists are waiting right outside the city. They attack all attempts to transport supplies or messages. They're regaining strength and planning as we speak. Waiting for the serpents is only giving them the time they need. We have to attack now, and the crawlers can give us the numbers we need."

"I said I will not hear any more of this!" Luxa yelled. "If you will not stop this at once, then leave so you do not waste any more of my time." Gregor stared at her for a few seconds. Her gaze was ice cold. He considered staying, but he was so angry with her he turned and left the room.

There was no way they could wait that long. The Allies were outnumbered and hurt. They had not yet made any offensive attacks the entire war. Gregor knew (through both his collection of information as well as a feeling he could just not shake) that they had to attack now before the Isolists regained all their strength and moved their entire army to attack Regalia.

But what could Gregor do about this? Luxa had made her decision. He weighed his options. If he did as he was told, the war would undoubtedly be prolonged. Both sides would have regained strengths, and they would just continue fighting. If he contacted the crawlers himself, he would be betraying Luxa, committing treason. He would either die in battle (a very real risk considering he really did not know if the crawlers could fight) or be killed for defying Luxa.

"So what if I'm killed?" Gregor thought to himself. If the attack worked, his family could go home, and the Underland would be safe. If it did not work, then Luxa's plan would be used and nothing would change. Gregor did not have to survive for either of these options. As mad as he was at Luxa, he knew she would take care of his family.

"What about the crawlers?" Gregor asked himself. "Their lives are at risk too." He would just have to make it perfectly clear what they were risking. Make it more than clear. If they still decide to help, then Gregor would plan the attack.

This was it. Gregor had made his decision. He was going to defy Luxa.


	25. Chapter 25

25

Maggie arranged a secret meeting with the crawlers for Gregor. He made sure he did not tell anyone of his plan for fear they may get into as much trouble as he was already in. When Hippolyta dropped Gregor off in the meeting place, he told her to take Maggie back, and get him in an hour.

"I wish you would tell me your plan, Gregor," Hippolyta said.

"I don't even know if I have a plan yet," Gregor admitted. Maggie looked concerned, but Hippolyta flew away before she could say anything. Gregor searched the tunnel with his echolocation. He was alone.

He stood there for several minutes, feeling exposed and worried. What if the crawlers did not show? Then he heard then approach; quick little steps as they crawled along the tunnel floor. There were only three.

"Greetings, Overlander. Princess gone, she is?"

"Uh, yeah. She'll be back later."

"Help you, she told us."

"Well I don't want you to help me because you were told to. I want you to understand what I'm asking."

"Kik will try, Kik will."

"Oh, good to see you again, Kik." Well not really see. Gregor was talking to the crawlers in complete darkness. Kot was also there, and they did not bother to introduce the third crawler. Gregor explained how he wanted the crawlers help to outnumber the Isolists, so he could surprise attack their army. He explained his plan, then made clear all the dangers involved. In fact, it sounded more like he wished to scare them away than get their help. The crawlers patiently listened, then asked to discuss the plan with the whole group.

"Your whole group?" Gregor asked.

"Yes," Kot said. "Help decide, more crawlers will help." Suddenly Gregor heard crawling all around him. The walls of the tunnel appeared to move, and he worried that it may collapse on him. The he realized that what he thought were rocks in the walls were actually crawlers. They had been so quiet and still (perhaps not even breathing), that Gregor's echolocation picked them up as merely rocks. He knew they could go undetected.

The crawlers formed a large cluster, and Gregor listened to the strange noises of their language. He wondered how they could be successfully discussing his plan, but the crawlers did always surprise him. It took some time, but they finally returned to their spots around the tunnel, and Kik, Kot, and the other crawler stood in front of Gregor again.

"Crawlers decide to help Overlander." It was blunt, and Gregor could not believe it.

"Are you sure? You realize that technically you aren't in this war? You could die. You don't have to agree just because my sister told you to help me."

"Want war over, Crawlers want Underland in peace. Protect Princess. Crawlers end war, they will. Make everyone safe." Gregor felt a deep respect for the crawlers. They were not even involved in the war officially, yet they were still willing to help protect not only Gregor's sister, but the whole Underland.

"Thank you. You don't know how important this is."

"Much important," Kot said.

"Ok, so you do know." Their confidence made Gregor more confident in his own plan. Hopefully it would work, and he could end this war.

Gregor quickly explained his plan, and was relieved that the crawlers caught on so quickly. They seemed to suck up all the information with no problem. When Hippolyta returned, Gregor made arrangements to meet them again closer to Regalia.

"Just remember, don't let the Regalian scouts spot you."

"Never do, unless crawlers want it." Gregor smiled, and hoped it was true. He would be relying on their stealth. He climbed on Hippolyta, and flew back to the city. She landed in an empty part of the city near the river.

"I know you plan something. You must tell me now while no one is near," she said.

"No. I'm doing this on my own, I can't drag anyone else into it." Gregor did not want Hippolyta involved. She could be accused of treason, and Gregor would not allow her to be put on trial.

"I know you wish to attack the Isolists with the crawlers," she persisted. "You just came from a meeting with them. If you are planning an attack, I wish to be involved."

"I'm not planning anything, and you can't be involved in it."

"This does not make sense." She was right. Gregor was just terrible at lying. "I do not appreciate you trying to protect me. I agree that waiting to attack is not wise, and I wish to be involved with any attack that can happen before the queen's plans. Now tell me your plan."

Gregor looked at her. He fully trusted her, and he wanted her by his side. He really had not thought of a flier like this since Ares. But Ares died in battle. Could Gregor really put Hippolyta's life at risk, and chance losing her like he lost Ares? Then again, he would never have thought twice about including Ares in his plans. He would need a flier, and a confident.

"Ok," Gregor finally said. "Just know that we can be arrested afterward, and that's _if_ we survive."

"I am aware of this. I am also aware we are doing this to protect those we love." Gregor nodded. It was also pushing him away from those he loved. He push the thought from his mind, and told Hippolyta his plan.


	26. Chapter 26

26

Gregor was getting dressed in his room. He wore simple, light armor made of leather, which was much better than the silly armor he wore during his battle with the Bane. Since he was defying Luxa, and therefore Regalia, he thought it best not to wear his soldier uniform. He placed it neatly on his bed so that it would be found when he was either dead or arrested.

Gregor knew his plan was already underway. The one problem with using the crawlers to surround the enemy was that the Isolists would hear them when they moved. Gregor instructed the crawlers to begin moving slowly (very slowly) and silently into position hours ago. Gregor believed the Isolists would be unable to detect the bugs, and he would fly in with Hippolyta later so as not to alert the enemy.

Two daggers (in case he lost one), Lord Sandwich's sword, a flashlight just in case. Gregor tucked Luxa's picture in a pocket under his armor (after Luxa brought it up to him, he decided to keep it with him even though it was several years old). He glanced at the uniform on his bed, then ripped the Regalian seal off the shirt and tied it around his arm. He figured ripping a uniform would not get him into much trouble compared to what he was planning, and he wanted to represent Regalia in some way.

Hippolyta would be there soon to take him to where the Isolists waited some distance outside the city. Unfortunately, Gregor was ready early now, and did not know what to do. He felt nervous, but maybe he should be more nervous. No, that would be bad. He tried to focus on reviewing his plan.

"Hey, Gregor. You there?" It was Wynnora. Gregor considered not answering for a moment. "If you're not there then I guess I can go into your room." Crap.

"I'm here. Don't come in. I'm uh. Getting dressed." How would he explain being dressed for battle to her?

"Hmmm, I think I'm going to come in anyway." She pushed the curtain aside and stepped into his room. "Oh well look at you all dressed up. So handsome. You wouldn't happen to be planning to go somewhere?" She was also dressed for battle, and had her bow and sai with her.

"I could ask you the same thing," Gregor said defensively.

"Oh me? Yeah, I'm planning on leading the crawlers in an attack against the Isolists even though the queen told me not to even think about it," Wynnora replied in a matter of fact tone. Gregor just stared at her in shock. "Gregor, there is a prophecy. You're making your choice," she said as if it were obvious.

"But… How could you know?"

"I'm like total BFF's with Nerissa, and we figured it out," she said in an overly cocky tone. Her face grew serous again. "Look, you've done the whole stand alone thing already, so now I think you should accept some help. Besides, I don't want you to be the only one to get arrested after you win."

"No. You're not helping." Gregor shook his head.

"I'll go tell on you."

"No you won't."

"Oh, you got me. I won't. But you should still let me help. Oh hey look, Hipp is here. Hipp can I come with you guys?"

"I believe Gregor and I are better without an added companion." Gregor smiled gratefully at the flier.

"That's fine, Clio and I will ride together." Clio popped her head in the next window. Gregor was not too sure about this. Clio was no fighter.

"We will not be in your way, Overlander. You must allow us to join you. We both have reasons to fight," Clio said, referring to her kidnapping. Gregor rubbed his head, then looked at Hippolyta. She gave a slight nod.

"Oh alright. But we're leaving right now." His cousin bounced a couple times in excitement, then messed up his hair before climbing on Clio. Gregor got on Hippolyta, and they all fell out of the window, and flew off for an exiting tunnel. "You're going to be serious, right?" he asked his cousin.

"I already am," she said with a smile. Gregor could see in her eyes though that she was scared, and very much taking this seriously. He filled her in on his plan, and he saw her determination grow.

They flew through the exit, and headed toward the outer circle. This boundary was the cutoff for Regalian soldiers, so Gregor knew he would not see them after he passed it. He also knew that the Isolists were just a mile beyond that boundary.

When they flew past the outer circle perimeter, he stopped on a ledge. Just as planned, a crawler sat there waiting for him. The crawler informed Gregor that they had been moving for six hours now, and were currently in position. Gregor thanked the bug, then sent him off with message to have the rest of the crawlers prepare. They could communicate silently through pheromones, sort of like ants.

Gregor and company flew on, and he knew there was no turning back now. Though the Isolists probably had no idea the crawlers were there, they were more than likely aware of two fliers quickly approaching through their main tunnel. "Well, this is it," Gregor thought.


	27. Chapter 27

27

Some time ago, Gregor had asked Mareth how one should approach an army. He found it strange that opposing armies just sat next to each other, and wondered how they communicated with each other. Surely if one were to approach the other, there would be an immediate attack. Mareth said the best strategy is just to be as obvious and vulnerable as possible.

That is what Gregor tried to do now. Hippolyta and Clio made no attempt to conceal their approach, so the Isolists would be fully aware that Gregor was coming. It was a bit more difficult to look vulnerable though. Gregor was a rager and the Warrior, and Hippolyta was one of the strongest female fliers and one of the best fighters in general. He just hoped their conspicuousness was enough to keep the Isolists from attacking immediately.

He flew through the tunnel, and hoped that what appeared to be rocks were actually crawlers. He was relying on echolocation since they did not want any light to give away the crawlers' positions. Wynnora, Gregor knew, was not happy flying in total darkness, but she handled it well. As they neared the Isolist camp, light began to fill the tunnel, and Gregor was happy to see that the crawlers listened to him and did not enter the lighted areas.

They flew on to a point where the tunnel widened, and the fliers clung to an empty part of the wall. Though Gregor wanted to address the Isolists, there was no way he would allow himself to be on the ground and vulnerable. The Isolist leaders had their soldiers (humans, fliers, gnawers, and spinners) in formation and ready to attack, but Stellovet held up a hand as Gregor turned to look at them.

"Why do you come here, Overlander?" Stellovet sounded cold, but diplomatic. Perhaps she hoped he was betraying Luxa. Not a chance. Gregor took a deep breath.

"I'm giving you all a chance," he said in the most commanding voice he could manage. He felt Luxa could do better, and suddenly wished she was there. "There is still a chance to save yourselves. Simply pledge you alleg-" Stellovet's laughter cut him off.

"No one here is loyal to the old leaders any longer. Here I was, thinking you came to join my forces. Now that I see you wish only to steal away my soldiers, I suppose I can kill you." Gregor tried to ignore her.

"Anyone who wishes to be loyal to your _true_ leaders, tear the Isolist emblem from your uniform, and fight with me. We will not hurt you. Everyone else," he looked at them with contempt. "Well, you've had your warning. I'm ending this war now."

"Soldiers, attack these fools before we are forced to listen to -"

"Attack!" Gregor yelled. There was the low rumble of movement behind him, on the other side of the camp, and from the one other tunnel that left this area. The Isolist soldiers looked around in confusion and fear.

"Do not fall for his tricks!" Stellovet cried. "Attack!" The soldiers pulled themselves together and leaped into battle. The crawlers were some distance away, and needed a few more seconds to arrive. Wynnora loosed several arrows into the human flier pairs that tried to attack them first. They fell to the ground, crushing those below. This gave Gregor time to watch the tunnels.

There they were. A black mass of crawlers swarmed into the camp. Even Gregor was shocked by the sheer number of them.

"Block the exits and move in! Cover the ceiling!" Gregor reminded them of the plan. The crawlers were excellent at passing on information, so he knew he could command them all from one spot. "Don't hurt the ones who don't wear the emblem!"

Gregor was not actually sure if the crawlers could hurt anyone until now. He watched as they worked in groups to swarm single soldiers, and tore them apart. It was horrifying, but it worked. Still, it took several crawlers to take down one soldiers, more if it was a large flier or spinner, and it was not particularly efficient. Gregor had to use them better.

"Attack the soldiers with the powder weapons!" Gregor ordered. This would keep Isolists from using their strongest weapons against them. The whole time, Gregor had to watch the battle and give orders. There was no time to fight, so he was now thankful his cousin was there. She fired arrow after arrow to keep Isolists at bay, giving Gregor the time he needed to assess the battle and give orders.

"Take prisoners!" He ordered. He wanted the crawlers to keep as many alive as possible. "They don't regrow legs!" he reminded them as an afterthought. The crawlers used their sheer numbers to team up on the enemy and literally tear them limb from limb. Even if they did take prisoners, Gregor suspected they would leave those soldiers without arms or legs. He wanted as few casualties as possible.

He gave orders for keeping the exits blocked, for moving teams of crawlers into more strategic places, and for hoarding prisoners together. After a while, the Isolists worked out a strategy to fight back, and Gregor was forced into battle. He separated from his cousin as Hippolyta dove into the chaos. Gregor aimed for flier and human pairs, as they were difficult to attack for the crawlers.

Hippolyta locked onto one flier, and Gregor stabbed its throat with his sword. He swung onto the flier, threw the rider off, then rolled back onto Hippolyta. Hipp flew for a smaller flier, latched onto its fur, then swung it in a circle. She released, and the flier slammed into the tunnel wall. They continued fighting, and Gregor just had to hope the crawlers were following his orders.

As the battle continued, he had few breaks, and they were used to command the crawlers. A few times he spotted his cousin on Clio, and was amazed by the flier's quickness. Though Wynnora was less accurate while flying, the pair were fast and deadly. Gregor and Hippolyta also got better. Gregor found that using his rager senses allowed him to leap from flier to flier to fight them, and Hippolyta caught him every time. They worked flawlessly together.

The battle did not take as long as most did, mainly because the crawler's were so shocking and overwhelming. The numbers were difficult to fight, and their technique was horrifying. The Isolists could not keep up morale. Gregor heard calls for retreat from the enemy, but he had the exits blocked. One of the Isolists must have had a reserve of powder weapons, because Gregor saw a cloud of smoke at one of the exits. The crawlers fell, no longer able to control their bodies. The ones on the ceiling fell, and crushed anyone below. Still, some Isolists were able to escape, but not many. Wynnora and Clio, now with masks over their faces, blocked the exit.

Gregor had just won his first battle. He knew most of the Isolist army was in this camp, so if the war was not yet over, it would be very soon. The area was covered in blood, more so than most battles. Body parts lay everywhere, results from the crawlers' fighting. Gregor was disgusted, but he could not think about that now. He had to get the prisoners back to Regalia, then most likely be arrested himself.


	28. Chapter 28

28

Gregor lay on a sofa staring at the ceiling. His cousin was across from him doing the same, although she was humming every Disney song she could think of and it was starting to annoy him. After marching all the prisoners back to Regalia, the dungeons quickly filled up. Gregor and Wynnora were arrested, but with no room to put them in the dungeon, they were confined to their quarters. Hippolyta and Clio were in the arena somewhere.

They had been waiting for several hours now, giving them both a chance to wash up and then get bored. Gergor was surprised by the treatment: it was incredibly civil and kind. Wynnora said the Regalians probably could not treat them too badly sense they did help in the war. Also, they must have their hands full sorting through the Isolist prisoners.

"So what do you think they're going to do to us?" Wynnora asked.

"Put us on trial," Gregor mumbled. "Exiled or executed. I don't know."

"Mm. I don't want to die." Wynnora said this with annoyance, as if being executed was too much of a hassle. Gregor was pretty sure the full effect of the day's events had not fully sunk in yet with her. "I guess you lost your shot with Luxa."

"Huh?" That caught his attention, and he looked over at her.

"Well I was rooting for you two. I thought it was cute. I just didn't want to bring it up with a war to think about. Now we don't have to."

"You're crazy. I had no shot with her." Gregor looked back up to the ceiling. Wynnora laughed weakly.

"Luxa is very strong, and she needs and wants someone who can and will stand up to her. You seem to be the only one to do that. Then again, this might have been a bit too far."

"More than a bit."

"Do you really think she'll let them execute us?"

"I don't know. She did almost let me die in quick sand one time."

"That doesn't sound promising." They heard hushed talking at the entrance to their quarters and both sat up. Vikus and Riped walked in.

"You've gotten yourself in deep trouble this time," Ripred said.

"What exactly are the charges against us," Gregor asked Vikus. The old man appeared exhausted, and looked at him with sympathy.

"Raising a personal army and ignoring the queen's orders are seen as a challenge to Regalia. You are all charged with treason." Gregor nodded.

"He doesn't get any credit for stopping almost the entire Isolist army?" Wynnora asked.

"Well you missed a few, so no. Next time do a better job," Ripred said. "Though you did only have crawlers to work with…" He gave Gregor a wicked smile.

"How does a trial work?" Vikus explained that a committee of judges would hear their stories, then make decision. Gregor thought back to the last time he was on trial. It was awful. He tried to think of a way to get his friends out of trouble.

"Are Hipp and Clio on trial too?" he asked.

"I am afraid so," Vikus said gently.

"What about the crawlers?"

"They have returned to their home. We have not spoken with them at all, and are far too busy to pursue them." That was good. Vikus told them to prepare themselves, because their trial would be held now while the Regalians were not yet occupied with the Isolists. Gregor exchanged looks with his cousin, then followed Vikus and Ripred to the courtroom.

The last time he was on trial, everyone hated him. They yelled, spat, and threw things. Some did this now, but others cheered for him. It was all confusing, and the judges called for everyone to calm down. Some soldiers stepped into the chaos to force people to settle down. This time, Gregor was seated with his cousin, Hippolyta, and Clio at a large stone table. The council of judges sat at a long, elevated stone table in front of them. He spotted Luxa sitting in a throne at the end of the council's table, with Aurora beside her, but she refused to look at him. He was surprised by how much this hurt him.

The Regalians were still settling down behind him, so Gregor decided to look around. He saw Mareth some distance away with Perdita, but he also refused to look at them. He was glad his family was not there. Vikus and Ripred were seated with them, and Gregor was surprised to find Howard just a few feet behind him with Nerissa. Wynnora turned to give them a weak grin, but Howard turned away. She frowned and looked forward again.

It was clear to Gregor that he had alienated himself from any of the Underlanders that he actually cared about. At least it looked like Vikus and Ripred were going to try to defend them. He was not sure what he feared more; never making amends with his friends, or actually be executed.


	29. Chapter 29

29

"Gregor the Warrior, Wynnora the Overander, Hippolyta and Clio, the fliers. You are charged with raising a personal army, defying Queen Luxa of Regalia, and threatening this city. These crimes of treason are punishable by death." The booming voice of the head judge sent a hush through the room.

"Well, technically only _I_ raised an army, and no one threatened Regalia. So you can just, you know. Scratch those off the list," Gregor said.

"You will treat this court with respect, Overlander!" a judge yelled at him. His cousin casually put her hand to her mouth to hide a smile, Ripred looked amused, and Vikus just looked disappointed. "We will now hear your stories, so that we may judge you fairly."

"Can I go first?" Wynnora's hand shot up, and Gregor almost laughed despite the serious situation.

"Silence!"

"I tried that before," Gregor whispered to his cousin. "They don't like it." She mouth "oh, sorry" back to him. The judges were talking amongst themselves now, and the audience got rowdy again. Gregor heard cries of "hero" and "traitor," and knew they were directed toward him. Hippolyta and Clio both looked scared, so he hoped only he and his cousin would have to talk.

"We will hear from the woman first," the head judge said. Wynnora bounced out of her seat, and followed an Underlandered up to a platform. Howard took this moment to whisper to Gregor since he was right behind him.

"Are you injured?" Even if he was mad, the doctor could not keep from checking on them.

"No. Just small stuff," Gregor replied.

"And the others?"

"Same."

"Your cousin will get herself into more trouble. You are all lucky Luxa will not allow you to be executed."

"You think?" Gregor turned to look at Howard. He looked completely serious.

"I know. There is no possibility Luxa would allow you to die. Exiled…" he shrugged. "You maybe wandering in the darkness after this." Gregor did not like the idea of being exiled in the Underland. Would he be able to get home?

"Gregor did not believe there would be enough time to wait for the serpents, nor did he think they were completely reliable," Wynnora began to explain. "So he organized with the crawlers to end the war now. The three of us joined in because we thought it the best option."

"And you knew your actions were treason?" a judge asked.

"Sure did." There was a murmur through the room. "I don't see the problem. He didn't take Regalian soldiers. He didn't ask civilians to act against their queen. He got a third party, acted separately from the queen, and was successful. Gregor beat almost the entire Isolist army with _crawlers_. I think you should give him some credit for that." The audience broke in the yells again, and the council quieted them down. Vikus stood up.

"He was acting just as the prophecy predicted. He made a choice, and stood alone. Did we not want him to follow the prophecy?" An argument broke out over the validity of the prophecy.

"Oh, so now you don't want to use the prophecy?" Wynnora asked accusingly. "Seems like you guys are incapable of making up your mind. Maybe if we're lucky you won't be able to decide if we're guilty or not."

"How dare you speak to the council in such a tone!" the head judge yelled. Gregor heard people call out insults at his cousin.

"How dare I? I just helped bring in the enemy, what have you been doing? Arguing with each other?" Gregor glanced at Luxa, and saw the slightest of smiles on her face. He doubted anyone else noticed, but it was unmistakable to him.

Gregor chanced a glance back at Howard and saw him shaking his head. Nerissa gave a weak, but encouraging smile. Wynnora was forced back to her seat, and Gregor took to the platform to speak.

"What were your intentions when you began devising your plan?"

"To end the war," Gregor said plainly.

"Were you not also planning to attack Regalia after the Isolists?"

"If I was planning that, I would not have come back to be arrested."

"Why did you wish to end the war?"

"Did you want it to keep going?" Gregor asked innocently. "Sorry, I didn't know that was the plan." The judges were beginning to turn red with anger. They demanded he answer the question. "Because that was our goal. To end the war. So that's what I did." He was getting annoyed with these stupid questions.

"Why did you refuse to obey when Queen Luxa ordered you to forget your plans with the crawlers?" Gregor involuntarily looked at Luxa, and saw that she could not hide her interest in the situation.

"Because I disagreed with her," he said. Luxa's head tilted ever so slightly. "She would not listen to anything I had to say. Normally, I would have dropped it and listened to her, but I felt very strongly about this. I had to do what I thought was right, what I thought would protect those I loved, even if it meant defying my queen."

The audience broke out into chaos again. Gregor looked at Luxa, and was unable to read her expression. Curiosity? Anger? Amusement? Hate?

"The Warrior admits he defied his queen!" the head judge called over the noise. "He knows he has committed treason, and must be-"

"Silence!" Luxa's voice rang clear through the courtroom, immediately quieting everyone. She now stood in front of her throne. "The Overlander did indeed defy me, though his goals and motivations still reflected my own. He acted in accordance with my cousin's prophecy, something we asked of him. What the Warrior did, he did for Regalia. For the good of this city and its people. He did not act against, nor threaten, Regalia, and so he and those who helped him will not be charged with treason." The audience broke into cries of anger and joy as people fought about whether this was the right decision or not. Luxa held up a hand, and silenced them.

"Having said that, the Warrior, as leader of this plan, will accept full responsibility for defying me." The queen looked at Gregor for the first time, and her eyes were ice cold. "For that is what he did. This was an act against me personally, and so I shall choose a suiting punishment for his act myself."

Gregor swallowed hard. Luxa was not going to let the council kill or exile him, but what did she have planned?


	30. Chapter 30

30

The trial was dismissed, and Gregor was escorted to a council room along with Hippolyta and his cousin. He tried to thank them for being strong through the trial, but he was not given much time for that. He was followed into the council room by Vikus, Howard, Mareth, their fliers, and Ripred. Gregor figured it was a meeting. He braced himself for when Luxa showed up.

There she was. The queen threw the curtain over the entrance aside, looking like an enraged goddess. Her face was flushed in anger, and the killer look in her eyes made Gregor's rager instincts kick in. He could feel the anger radiating off her, and he braced for a slap. Instead, she walked right up to him, stopping just inches from his face, and held up a finger.

"I have spared your life this time, Gregor," she said in almost a growl. "But if you so much as think of disobeying me again, I will not hesitate to kill you!" Her voice raised until she was yelling. "Am I perfectly clear!?" Gergor gave a quick, nervous nod, feeling his face grow hot in embarrassment and his stomach twist in fear. His cockiness from the courtroom was gone now that his friends watched the girl of his dreams scold him.

"Yes."

"Do not think you have done some great service for me. You may have damaged their army, but you let the leaders escape. Stellovet is _still_ not in our custody. So you will _not_ be making secret plans. You will _not_ be returning home. You will be using every ounce of energy you have to finish this! Is that understood, or will I be forced to lock you in the dungeon with the other traitors!?"

He nodded again, aware that everyone was staring at him. Her words stung him. Gregor did not think he should be compared to the Isolists, and he did not think Luxa would put him down there with them. Then again, this was Luxa. He forced himself to look her in the eyes, though every part of him wanted to back away from her.

"Mareth, he is to remain supervised at all times," she said, not bothering to look at her general. "And I mean that." Howard cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Cousin?" he said cautiously. Luxa just stared at Gregor, and he was not sure if she heard her cousin. "Perhaps you should allow his family to return home." Luxa took a step back.

"Indeed. Your family, excluding Wynn," Luxa shot her a dirty look, "may return home. You will also work to bring in the last of our enemies." Wynnora gave a nervous smile, and a thumbs up.

Over the next several days, Luxa had everyone work to interrogate the prisoners, weed out those who could have been loyal, sit through meetings about what should be done about them, and review information useful in finding the remaining Isolists. Gregor had to admit, he was more than disappointed he could not return home. At least his family could, and that was what mattered.

In the meantime, Gregor fought off home sickness while Luxa kept to her word, and worked him to death. Between running errands or messages, assisting Ripred with the prisoners, training with Mareth (apparently Gregor had not escaped physical punishment, because Mareth worked him hard under Luxa's orders), or sitting through every single meeting (something Luxa knew he hated), Gregor barely had time to sleep. He was exhausted and missed his family and home dearly, but he refused to feel sorry for himself. He knew Luxa could have done far worse.

Just as Gregor had expected, he had to completely rebuild his relationships with the Underlanders. Mareth watched him like a hawk as if he would plan another attack. In private, though, one time the general praised him for such a successful victory, and with crawlers too. Howard had been hurt that they had lied to him, and did not talk to them much. Gregor was surprised by how much this bothered his cousin. Vikus took things in stride, and moved on right away. Gregor had no problem with him, or Ripred who seemed to be impressed by Gregor's actions. In fact, Luxa got mad by the number of comments and jokes the gnawer was making about the battle.

What bothered Gregor the most was Luxa. Though she talked to him, it was all formal. They were no longer friends. They just worked together. She was his queen, and nothing more. He missed her teasing, her secret smiles to him, their private talks. He could think of no way to make things right again.

It did not take long for Regalian scouts to locate the remaining Isolsits. Stellovet, and the remaining leaders, were there. They were greatly weakened, though their small numbers meant they could move fast. Mareth suggested a sneak attack to bring in the remainder, so there was no risk in alerting them and allowing them a chance to flee.

"I agree, this is our best option. I will be on this small sneak attack," Luxa said.

"Your Highness, may I suggest-" Luxa cut Mareth off.

"You may not. I have made up my mind. Now who do you suggest be included on this party." Mareth looked at her wearily and appeared to want to protest again, then changed his mind.

"I would suggest Gregor and Hippolyta."

"Absolutely not."

"Why not," Gregor asked. This was the first time he even slightly challenged her in days. "I'm the only human who can use echolocation. That would be perfect for sneaking up on the enemy."

"This was also my thinking," Mareth said. "He and Hippolyta are an excellent team."

"I cannot trust him." Luxa raised her chin, and looked at Gregor with contempt. It stung.

"I have been nothing but loyal for years, and one mistake is going to ruin that?"

"Trust is easily broken, and difficult to build," Wynnora mumbled.

"Shut up, Wynn." Gregor was getting mad. "I'm going on this whether you like it or not."

"Need I remind you-" Luxa took a few threatening steps closer to him, but he cut her off.

"No, you don't. If you want to kill me, then kill me. If not, then I am going on this mission because I'll be damned if I let something happen to you." The room fell silent, and he was suddenly aware that his words may not be appropriate.

"That is enough, Gregor" Vikus said. "You will be on this mission." Luxa did not object.


	31. Chapter 31

31

Why was she not looking at him? She is angry, ok, but did she have to put out such an effort to not make eye contact? "She makes eye contact when gives me a dirty look," Gregor thought to himself. Gregor did not expect Luxa to forgive him, but he did not think he would be working with her. Being so close to her made her hate painfully obvious.

"Are you paying attention, Overlander?" the queen asked.

"Yes," he replied, trying to hide his annoyance. He knew he did not deserve to feel annoyed. She had every right to treat him like this.

"Then act like it."

"Yes." They continued forming strategies for the upcoming attack on the final Isolists. Luxa was figuring out how they would transport the enemy and where they would be put, while Gregor tried to figure out possible ways they could position soldiers. He could not help but be distracted.

"If you want to yell at me, you can. Just get it out of your system," he finally said.

"You do not wish to speak of this," Luxa mumbled without looking up. There was a slight warning tone to her voice.

"I do. I think we should talk. I'm sorry for what I did. More than I can say. And if you need to, you can just yell at me and…"

"And what? Would my scolding you make you feel better, Gregor?" She finally looked up, her eyes piercing him. "It would not fix what you did, it would not make me less angry with you, and it would not help with the task at hand."

Gregor wished she had yelled it instead of saying it so calmly. Luxa was right. If she just reprimanded him, he would feel better. Instead it looked like he was meant to suffer through her passive aggressive punishment. He carried on with what he was doing silently until he could not take it anymore.

"So is that it then?"

"Is what it?" Again, she did not look up from what she was doing.

"There's nothing I can do to fix this? We're just done?"

"There was never a 'we.'" They sat in silence again. Gregor tried to sort out what he wanted to say.

"Luxa, I didn't do it to hurt you or betray you. I did it because we wanted the war over. For everyone to be safe. I thought it was my best chance, and I couldn't pass it up. If you had been in my position, you would have done the same." The queen stopped what she was doing.

"True. Perhaps." Her eyes flicked up to his again, this time they only showed hurt. "However, if you were in my position you would do the same as me." She pushed up her crown and went back to work.

She was right again. There had to be something he could say.

"I really didn't mean to hurt you. I care about you." Luxa flinched slightly, but she acted like she did not hear what he said.

There was a noise at the entrance, then Wynnora threw aside the curtain to enter. She threw the curtain back behind her again, then pushed it around in frustration.

"There are no doors to slam around here!" She lapsed into another language, walked to the table, and sat next to Gregor. It caught the queen's attention.

"Does the slamming of doors serve some purpose?" she asked.

"People slam doors when they get mad," Gregor replied, eager to talk to her about anything. Even if it was a weird, out of context, Overlander practice.

"I see… I trust you will have your temper under control soon as you will be accompanying us on the mission." Wynnora mumbled something, and Gregor thought she looked like such a pouty child. Luxa looked confused. "In the Underland, we may challenge, and possibly kill, those who anger us so greatly." Her eyes flashed at Gregor for a moment, and he felt a bit scared. "I should be used to these looks by now," he thought to himself.

"I don't think you'd appreciate me killing your cousin. Stupid jerk. He won't talk to me."

"Well…" Gregor said. "I did warn you."

"Oh please. I didn't do anything to _him_. Luxa, you have every right to be angry at me. But he's not royalty."

"You quite nearly betrayed his land," Luxa explained. "He has every right to be angry with you, as I am currently angry with Gregor." This time a wicked smile accompanied her jab, and Gregor knew it was meant to hurt him.

"That doesn't make any sense," Wynnora scoffed. "Howard and I aren't like that. We're just friends, not like you two…" She trailed off, awareness of what she just said spreading across her face. "I mean, we're not as close as you two are. Were." Strangely, her words did not phase Gregor this time, since he now knew there was no way they could be true. Luxa, on the other hand, was starting to turn red.

"I do not know what sort of ideas you have formed, but I suggest you think carefully before voicing them." Wynnora nodded quickly, and though Gregor wanted to laugh, he knew better than to do so when Luxa was in this mood.

"Do you have anything useful to say, Wynn?" Gregor asked. She had actually found them to bring information from Mareth, and they quickly began working again.

"Who else is going on this mission?" Wynnora asked.

"Me, you, Ripred," Gregor listed. "Hipp and Nike. Mareth has picked out a small group of his best soldiers for it."

"My cousin and I will also be involved," Luxa said. Gregor put his face in his hands. This again. He had been trying to convince them not to go. Wynnora nodded.

"I figured as much."

"You shouldn't go, Luxa," Gregor said.

"And you should not give orders to the queen," she shot back. He bit his lip to keep from saying anything back, then excused himself. He stepped out of the meeting room, and started walking down the hall. He was already in a terrible mood, so seeing Ripred just made everything worse.

"Oh look who I ran into, the Wari-"

"Not now, Ripred."

"Well someone is moody. Lady trouble, I suppose." Gregor realized that he just encouraged the gnawer to taunt him. "You messed up with her. You could not have really thought that stunt you pulled would win her affection."

"The only thing I was trying to win was a war," Gregor said, failing to hide his annoyance.

"Oh of course." Why was he even bothering with this? Gregor knew the gnawer could smell that he liked Luxa. Did he have to rub in it?

"Do you have anything useful to say?" Ripred pretended to think for a moment.

"Just that you shouldn't mess this mission up. You've been dragging your feet through this palace like a pouty child for days. You better fix that before the battle. Do not let your feelings for the girl distract you." Ripred made Gregor stop walking. "You job is to protect her and this city, so stop thinking about yourself. Stop thinking about your affection. You have a war to finish up."


	32. Chapter 32

32

Gregor took Ripred's words to heart, and focused only on the upcoming fight during the final preparations. He did not try to apologize to Luxa anymore. He did what he did; there was no changing that. If Luxa could find a way to forgive him, great, if not, well there were more important things to think of.

The day of the attack was finally here. Gregor was getting ready in his room. He was surprised that he was given a Regalian uniform again. He put on the uniform with the Regalian seal in the fabric, then tied on the leather armor that had the seal burned into it. Gregor looked in the mirror. He definitely did not look like an Underlander, but he could not help feeling proud of wearing the uniform.

Gregor walked out to the living room, and found his cousin already dressed and waiting to go on the sofa. Unlike Gregor, she avoided the uniform, completely unwilling to accept being a soldier.

"I really hope this is the last fighting we do down here," she said solemnly. Gregor just shrugged. Hippolyta appeared at the window, and offered to give them a ride to the arena. From there, the entire company left to find the enemy. The Isolists were hiding some distance from Regalia, so they traveled for a few hours before stopping. Mareth gave his soldiers instructions to wait, then he turned to Luxa.

"Do not stray from the plan," he said firmly. Luxa was not happy with the plan, which involved them walking a distance to the Isolists to try not to alert them (a few people walking was quieter than a bunch of soldiers flying). It was very similar to Gregor's plan with the crawlers, and she resented that. Everyone else would fly through higher tunnels, then drop down at a signal that could be sent by someone on the ground.

"I am not the one who deviates from plans," she replied coldly, holding her chin high. Gregor looked away. Mareth gave her a final warning look, then left with his soldiers. All who remained was Gergor and his cousin, Luxa, Howard, and Ripred. The fliers had to go with the others.

"You can keep those lights on for now, but turn them off when we get closer," Ripred said. "We have quite a ways to walk, so enjoy the stroll. I'm going to scout up ahead." With that, he took off down the tunnel. Luxa gave the order, and they began walking through the tunnel.

The silence was torture. All that could be heard were footsteps. Gregor knew his cousin could not take the quiet darkness for much longer, and hoped she would not say anything stupid.

"Can I walk up ahead?" Wynnora asked. Gregor sighed in relief that she had not made a silly joke.

"I think not," Luxa answered. "It would be dangerous for you to be alone."

"Howard will go with me." Luxa looked at her cousin, who gave a slight shake of his head.

"This would be a good arrangement. It would allow messages from Ripred to travel to me faster. Go with her." Howard glared at her, but he picked up his pace, and soon he disappeared in the darkness with Wynnora. Now the silence was worse, because Gregor really wanted to talk to Luxa. He wished there was a reason not to talk, but at this point, the enemy would not be able to hear them. They walked on in silence.

Gregor looked forward, but he used to echolocation to watch Luxa. Her face was set in determination to end this war. Or perhaps to not talk to Gregor. If they were still friends, he probably would have been able to make her smile. Luxa's hand never left her sword, and Gregor thought about the times he had held it. He pushed these thoughts from his mind. He could not allow himself to be distracted. That could be dangerous…

There was a faint noise up ahead. Gregor could not recognize it, so he put an arm out to stop Luxa. She looked at him in confusion while he listened.

"Do you hear that?" he asked. She listened to.

"Yes, though I am not sure what it is."

"It's not human." The noise was getting louder.

"It matters not. Whatever it is, we will kill it."

"And what if it's with the Isolists?" Gregor asked. "If it got away, it could alert the enemy, and our whole plan would be ruined. Mareth told us to avoid anything in our path." The queen thought for a moment.

"Well we cannot stay here." She began looking for a place to hide. Gregor rushed her, there was not much time. "Here," she said, pointing to a crevasse in the tunnel wall. "We hide in there. Turn out your light." Gregor clicked the flashlight off, then Luxa grabbed his hand and dragged him into the crevasse. It was a very tight squeeze.

They wiggled their way as far back as they could get, then waited. Luxa was pressed up against Gregor, and she watched the opening even though she could not see in the darkness. Her hand remained on her sword, ready to attack, even though in that position she could not unsheathe it. She remained the perfect warrior in their awkward position.

Gregor, on the other hand, thought his head was going to explode. She was so close to him. "Think of something else," he thought desperately to himself. "Think of the bloodthirsty monster that is going to try to kill you any second now." But he was pretty sure he could feel her heartbeat. He could definitely feel her… "Think of something else."

"You are breathing loudly," Luxa hissed at him, her face just inches from his. The sound was getting closer, and Gregor thought it might be a small group of spinners. It was a good thing they did not try to attack them. Gregor held his breath, and hoped they did not hear the pounding of this heart. He instinctively pulled Luxa closer, and tried to position himself in front of her. The crevasse did leave much room for moving.

The spinners were right next to the crevasse now. They seemed to be taking forever. Luxa was holding her breath too now. Gregor heard them crawl along the walls, pausing at the crevasse opening, speaking in strange noises. Gregor did not think he could hold his breath much longer, but he was too afraid to breathe. Luckily, a noise up ahead caught their attention, and the spinners moved on. Gregor and Luxa dared not move for several minutes. Finally, Luxa decided to try to get out.

"Gregor, you must move."

"I can't, you're blocking me." They could not seem to wiggle back out in the darkness, and argued back and forth about moving.

"If you would move your hand," Luxa said. "Not there," she snapped, as Gregor felt his face grow hot. He wanted to explain it was an accident, but decided against it.

"There's nowhere for me to move my hand." Luxa shifted in the darkness, and it only made Gregor's heart beat faster. He really wished she would stop. Then again…

They had not been paying attention, and suddenly they heard a noise approaching. It was already near the crevasse. They both put a hand over each other's mouths, but there was no way whatever was out there did not hear them already. Gregor could not think straight, and had no idea what it was. Whatever it was, it was right outside the crevasse now.


	33. Chapter 33

33

A beam of light shined down the crevasse, and Gregor and Luxa blinked.

"That's a funny way to kiss." The light shifted down, and Gregor saw his cousin standing at the opening with a grin. Beside her stood Howard, his eyes flaring with anger.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked as calmly as possible. "Explain yourself, Gregor."

"Me? No, I. I. She dragged me in here." Luxa started shifting again to try to get out now that she had light. Gregor blushed deeply, trying not to look at Howard. Trying not to think of Luxa.

"Nice strategy, Luxa," Wynnora said. "Though you should probably wait until we're done with the Isolists."

"Be quiet," Luxa snapped, finally wiggling out of the Crevasse. Gregor reluctantly squeezed out behind her. "Why did you come back?"

"We were about to get to the part where we need to sneak, so we thought we would hurry you guys along. I never thought _this_ was your distraction. It's a good thing I came and got you kids, who knows what tempta-"

"Enough, Wynnora," Howard said firmly.

"Yes doctor."

"We are not here to play or…" He gave Luxa and Gregor a disapproving look. "We have a job. Now move on." Gregor started walking right away, eager to get away from the situation. He forced everything except the plan from his head. Even the thought of having Luxa so… "Think about the plan," Gregor told himself. He was thankful they had to remain silent for the remainder of the journey.

As they walked on, they met up with Ripred again. He had scouted forward, and now signaled that they needed to turn their lights out. Gergor had no problem with that, and surprisingly neither did Luxa. She turned her flashlight off, and took Gregor's hand without hesitation so he could lead her. Howard put a hand on Ripred to follow him. Wynnora took a deep breath, turned off her light to total darkness, then promptly fell over.

Gregor was glad she kept quiet, and just stood up to hold onto Ripred. They walked on slowly for an hour before the Isolist camp came into sight. Gregor half expected them to detect them and attack immediately, but they did not. As the group got close enough to see, Gregor understood why.

They were fighting. The tunnel opened up, and inside were the remaining Isolists. The lower soldiers stayed near the outside, but the leaders grouped in the center. Gregor saw Stellovet yelling at a gnawer. From what Gregor could hear, they were fighting over plans to save their army being held in Regalia.

Luxa, who could now see by the Isolists' torchlight, motioned for Ripred to move to the other side. He could travel on a ledge a few feet up. Howard followed. Gregor remained with Luxa and his cousin. They waited until Ripred and Howard reached the other side (easily thanks to the distraction of the fighting Isolists), and signaled that Mareth's troops were in place in the tunnels far above the cave.

Luxa drew her sword silently, and Gregor did the same. She took a deep breath, pushed up her crown, and nodded to Wynnora. Without hesitation, she peaked round the corner of the tunnel and shot an arrow into the eye of a spinner. The Isolists looked around in confusion, but had no time to react as fliers dove in from above. Gregor watched Ripred leap into battle, and followed suit.

Gregor made sure to stay close to Luxa. Though she no longer wanted him for a personal guard, he was determined to protect her anyway. They spun around each other, defending the exit. Fliers dove in around them to snatch up enemies to drop.

It was mostly spinners that remained, so Gregor sliced through their legs. Once he got them to the ground, he could stab their eye. Occasionally Hippolyta grabbed one to help him.

"Gregor!" Luxa called. He looked for her immediately, scared that she had been hurt. Instead he saw her running for him. "Give me a boost." Gregor had just enough time to kneel. Luxa stepped up, and he helped throw her into the air. Aurora swooped down low, and caught her bond perfectly. Gregor marveled at them for a moment, before being struck by a human. Gregor got his head back in the battle, and quickly disarmed the soldier then knocked him out with the hilt of his sword.

The Regalian soldiers had half the cave under control and full of disarmed Isolists in less than an hour. The few who remained fighting did so weakly, and were quickly disarmed, restrained, and taken prisoner. Gregor looked around to see who remained. Stellovet was fighting a soldier, who appeared to be no match for her, so he decided to go help him. He ran over, and struck out at her. She was barely able to block. He swung his sword round, and she blocked again.

"You cannot defeat me!" she screamed. The madness in her voice unsettled Gregor. She had lost all the regal looks she had before, and now looked half crazed with her hair falling over her blood splattered face. He tried to hit her hand to disarm her, but she was too fast. He had enough of this. He was trying to let her live, but she was not giving in. He loosened up to let his rager senses take over, when heard a scream behind him. _Her_ scream.

"Luxa!" he yelled without thinking. He turned his head and saw a spinner about to stab her with a leg. An arrow buried itself in the spinner's eye, then Ripred leaped on it and tore it apart. She was safe. Luxa was-

He felt a searing pain in his side. Suddenly he could not breathe, and dropped to his knees.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance," Stellovet hissed in his ear.

Everything felt like slow motion. He saw Luxa's eyes widen. Beautiful, violent eyes. She was moving toward him now. He looked down. It seemed to take forever. Down. Down. And he saw a sword sticking out of him covered in blood. His blood? The sword slid out again, and more blood gushed out. Now Luxa was beside him. How did he get on the ground? Luxa was crouching over him protectively. He reached out for her hand, but he was too weak. There was so much blood.

His eyes moved over to Stellovet. She was getting off the ground. Luxa yelled something at her, but Gregor heard nothing. The two of them slowly tensed to attack each other again. Gregor wanted to tell Luxa no, she had no weapon, but he could not talk. He could only gasp in pain for air. He did not want Luxa to get hurt. Stellovet charged toward Luxa, sword ready to chop the queen down.

Suddenly, a blade appeared through Stellovet's throat, and the life went out of her eyes. The blade slid out, and her body collapsed to the ground. Howard stood in his sister's place for a moment, then threw his sword away. He dropped to the ground, and scooped his sister in his arms. Gregor could not hear him crying. Luxa was saying something.

Gregor turned his head back to her. What was she saying? He just watched her lips move. She stoked his cheek, pushed his hair out of his face, steaking blood everywhere. His blood. She was saying "stay with me." He smiled. Touched her hand. Closed his eyes.


	34. Chapter 34

34

Where was that light coming from? It was not strong, in fact no one would have questioned it in the Overland. In the Underland, however, light could always be traced back to a torch or lamp. This was not torch light though.

Other than the light, everything was black. The only reason Gregor could tell it was not darkness was that he could see Ares. He was sitting several yards away. Gregor sat up from where he had been lying down, then stood. Ares fluttered away, and waited. Gregor started to follow, and Ares fluttered away again.

Gregor did not feel scared, or confused, or anxious, though he momentarily thought he should. He just wanted to follow Ares. He took a few more steps toward the flier, and he fluttered away again. Gregor waited now, and they just looked at each other. He did not understand why his bond kept moving away from him.

"What do you want?" Gregor asked. The flier did not answer. "I miss you."

"I miss you, as well." They stayed quiet for a few seconds. Or was it hours?

"Let me follow you." Ares shook his head. Gregor wanted to follow, but he trusted his bond. There was a reason he kept moving away. "Ok." Gregor walked toward Ares, and this time the flier did not move away. Gregor took Ares claw in his hand, and they looked each other in the eye.

"Good bye, Gregor."

"Good bye, Ares."


	35. Chapter 35

35

Gregor opened his eyes. It took a lot of effort. He felt so tired and weak, and even the dim lamp light hurt his eyes. His head pounded, his side felt like it was on fire, and just about every muscle ached. He decided not to move, and instead moved his eyes to look around. He was back in his room in the palace, lying in bed.

Sitting up was not an option, so Gregor opted to turn his head. He slowly turned his neck, but he was so stiff that this was painful. How long had he been out? His eyes fell on his cousin curled up in a chair reading. Gregor managed a smile.

"Hey," he said softly. His voice was scratchy. Wynnora's head jerked up, and she smiled.

"Hey there, sleepy head. You've been out for three days, and everyone is fine." She answered his two of his questions without him having to ask.

"How am I still alive?" Gregor asked. Wynnora was grabbing broth. It looked like she was going to waste no time to make him eat.

"Bad aim. You were run all the way through, but it was too far to the left to kill you right away. They think you're in the clear now though." Gregor nodded. "Other news," Wynnora continued while making him drink. "I sent for your family and Luxa is off doing the boring parts of ending a war." Gregor smiled and blushed slightly. Of course she knew he wanted to hear about Luxa.

"I'm sure she's excited for that."

"Actually, Vikus had to convince her to leave you." Wynnora smiled, though she was not playful like usual. "I'm pretty sure that if you had died she…" She trailed off, and made him drink again. "You scared us," she said, holding back tears. Gregor slowly ate a bit more, then Wynnora helped him sit up in bed. It was painful, but he did not feel like laying down.

"My memory is kind of foggy," Gregor said, wincing as he touched his side. "Did Howard…"

"Yeah." Wynnora looked down. "After Stellovet stabbed you, she was about to attack Luxa, who was unarmed. So he. You know." Gregor could not imagine what that would be like. Stellovet was terrible, but she was still his sister. Killing her must have been torture.

"How is he?"

"He was in shock for about a day, but now he's working himself to death. We figure that's better." She looked incredibly sad, so Gregor wanted to change the subject.

"What about Luxa? I guess she's working non-stop."

"She is working a lot, but she takes a lot of breaks. To come visit you." As if on cue, there came a call from the entrance.

"Wynn? May I enter?" It was Luxa. Gregor's cousin called her in, and Luxa stepped through the curtain. Her eyes landed on Gregor, and she seemed to take a breath in sharply and hold it. Wynnora gave Gregor a smile, then quickly slipped out of the room. Luxa stared at him.

"Hey," Gregor said, smiling. He could not help it seeing her now. Luxa swallowed.

"I am still angry with you," she said firmly.

"Ok."

Luxa made something between a laugh and a cry, then rushed to hug him. He gasped in pain.

"Oh, do not be a baby," Luxa said, still hugging him.

"Sorry." He gave a quick laugh before his side hurt again. She pushed back from him now, her face serious, and her eyes were slightly red from crying.

"I would expect better from a rager," Luxa scolded him. "You defy me to defeat an entire army with crawlers just to be run through because you were not paying attention?" Gregor smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, I thought you were in trouble." Luxa blushed.

"I had everyone's eyes on me for protection. You should have been concerned for your own well-being. Why did you not defeat her?"

"I was trying not to kill her so she could be put on trial. And because Howard didn't want her killed." Gregor looked away now. It was his fault that Howard had to kill his sister. "I'm so sorry," he said. Luxa stroked his cheek, and Gregor looked to her again.

"You did what you thought was best," she said gently. "You cannot change what happened, so do not dwell on it." Gregor nodded, fighting back tears. They sat together in silence for several minutes. Luxa held his hand.

"I thought I lost you," Luxa whispered. Gregor squeezed her hand, which made her glare at him. "I am still mad at you."

"Of course," he said. She tried to hide a smile, the stood.

"I must now return to discussing what should be done with the prisoners," she said with a sigh. "You are no longer forced to stay here. As soon as you are fully healed, which will take some time, you may return home." Luxa leaned over, and kissed Gregor's cheek. "If you should so choose," she added.


	36. Chapter 36

36

Gregor spent the next several days healings, which did not bother him. He much preferred this than having to sit through meetings listening to what should be done with the traitors. Not to mention discussion about the new land they had found the previous year opened back up. Gregor had no interest getting involved in that either.

Hippolyta visited him every day through his recovery. She felt awful about his injury, and insisted that she should have been there to prevent it. Gregor assured her that she had done nothing wrong, and really appreciated her company. He also had other visitors, Mareth, Vikus, Ripred, Aurora, Nike, when they were not busy.

Gregor's mother was livid when she found out what happened to her son. She wanted to take him home immediately, forcing Gregor's father to talk her down. There was no way they could go home. He had doctors and all the help he needed here. If he went to an Overland hospital… well his injury would be suspicious to say the least. In the end, she agreed to stay since the war was over. Though Gregor's sisters were also upset over his injury, they were happy to have another opportunity to see their friends in the Underland.

Luxa was not lying when she said she was still mad at him, but she was slowly warming up to him again. There were no more moments like the one after he woke up, but she was getting back in the habit of talking over ideas with him. She was now sitting in his room with Wynnora, who had been sitting in on post war meetings, to work through some ideas.

"They were traitors, so it would not be wrong for me to imprison or execute them," she said. "I do not know why Vikus insists on mercy."

"I agree with him," Wynnora said.

"You always seem to."

"Has there ever been a civil war in the Underland before?" Gregor asked.

"There has not amongst the humans."

"Well, my country had a civil war a long time ago, and they messed up the aftermath." Wynnora nodded in agreement. "It kept part of the country behind for years, and caused a lot of resentment. A lot of it was caused by really harsh laws." Luxa appeared to contemplate this.

"Are you saying I should let them go?" she asked.

"No. I'm just saying that you can't be too harsh or too kind. I know you'll find the answer somewhere in the middle." He gave a reassuring smile, and she nodded in return.

"I have much to think about. Thank you, Gregor." Luxa got up and left the room.

"Maybe I spoke too soon," Wynnora said with a sly smile.

"Huh?" Gregor was not sure what she was talking about.

"Maybe you do still have a shot with her." Gregor glared at her. "I'm not the only one who thinks so," Wynnora said defensively.

"Will you stop? We're going home soon. I'm not looking for a girlfriend." Wynnora frowned.

"Oh yeah. Home." She lay across Gregor's bed.

"Aren't you happy? No more fighting. No more negotiations. No more trials." Gregor thought she wanted to go home.

"No more history. No more art. No more Nerissa or Nike or…" She trailed off. Gregor understood. He felt much the same. He was glad to be going home, but he not only liked the people here, he liked the Underland in general. It was like a home to him now. "Are you sure we can't visit?" Gregor laughed.

"You're the one who said it was a bad idea, Wynnie."

"Yeah, I know," she sighed. "But we can't leave now." She propped herself on her elbows. "I mean, we have to make sure everything works out, and Nerissa was so shaken by everything. And we can't just leave Howard after…"

"We'll see what happens," Gregor assured her.

As soon as Gregor could walk, he made his way down to the hospital. His whole recovery was overseen by a number of doctors, but he had not seen Howard once. He still felt guilty about what happened. He found the young man organizing medicine bottles, but Gregor thought it just looked like he was trying to keep busy.

"Hey," Gregor said, walking up to him. Howard glanced up briefly.

"You need not apologize for nor discuss what happened," he said quietly. He already knew exactly what Gregor was thinking. It reminded him of Vikus, who always seemed to understand everyone's point of view. "I understand why you did not kill her. Because I requested it." Gregor was alarmed by the statement. He did not want his friend to accept all the guilt.

"You can't blame yourself." Howard stopped what he was doing and bit his lip.

"I was holding the sword." His words chilled Gregor. He could only imagine his pain. "I did love my sister," he said quietly.

"And you love Luxa too." Gregor's words finally got Howard to look at him. "If you hadn't… taken action, Luxa would have been killed. Me too, most likely. I'm not saying that what happened was a good thing, or that Luxa is worth more than Stellovet." Howard flinched at the name. "I'm just saying…" Gregor trailed off, trying to think of what he _was_ trying to say. "I'm just saying that what happened, happened. It was a terrible thing, but there was good there too."

"I am tired of people telling me that what I did was good." His tone was tired, frustrated, and angry.

"What you did was not a good thing. It was terrible. It is one of the most terrible things I can think of." Gregor's words seemed to surprise the Underlander. "But making sure Luxa is safe is one of the best things I can think of. This is not a simple matter of good or bad. So be depressed. Fell guilty. Be mad at yourself. But just know that you're not a bad person." Howard stared at him for a few moments, then nodded.

"Thank you," he finally said. Gregor gave a weak smile.

"It's nice to have someone say its ok to be mad at yourself isn't it? To grieve?"

"Yes," he replied with a sigh of relief. "I owe you much."

"You can repay me by taking a break."


	37. Chapter 37

37

Gregor was surprised when Luxa asked to see him privately. He contemplated asking her to meet privately, but decided against it worried she had not yet forgiven him. When she asked him to come with her to her quarters, Gregor was thrilled. He was going to leave soon, and wanted this chance to say a proper good bye. She even asked Aurora for a moment alone, so he had no one to distract them.

It was not going as he had planned. Luxa had sat on the sofa across from him, and now they sat quietly avoiding each other's eyes. Gregor glanced up at her, and watched as she pushed up her crown while she focused on something off to her left. Her hair, though still short, had started to grow out, and she kept the front neatly braided out of her eyes. Gregor appreciated that since he wanted to remember her violet eyes. He needed her to look at him though.

"So, anything in particular you wanted to talk about?" he asked after several minutes of silence. Her eyes flicked over to him, and she seemed to be contemplating something.

"I just wished to know when you planned to leave for the Overland." She folded her hands on her lap, and raised her chin slightly. Gregor almost laughed. The chin thing may help her posture for her royal duties, but in this setting it was just cute. "Of course you do know you must return for examinations to ensure your wound continues to heal properly."

"I know. I'm leaving in two days, and Howard and I already set of times for my check-ups." He tried to smile at her, but he knew it was weak.

"I suppose," she began again, slowly. "You will not be returning after that." Gregor felt his whole chest tighten. It was true. He was planning that, but hearing it from Luxa, facing the reality of it, made him feel sick.

"I was thinking that," he admitted, but his voice sounded hoarse. She nodded, and bit her lip. Suddenly, a million ideas went through Gregor's head. Crazy ideas. About moving down to the Underland, or setting up a summer home in Regalia, or holiday visits, or bringing Luxa to the Overland, or… "Well, I mean… I don't have to." Luxa looked at him, her eyes serious.

"Of course you do. It is your home. Visiting the Underland will only make things… difficult. Complicated." Her voice was so sad. Gregor could not stand it anymore, and moved to sit next to her. He took her hand.

"I _could_ visit. My sisters love so many things about the Underland. They wouldn't mind."

"And your parents?"

"They'll get over it." Luxa shook her head, but she did not let go of his hand.

"You know it cannot work," she said softly. Gregor's ideas were getting crazier.

"Then I'll stay." They looked into each other's eyes. "I can stay here, and make visits home to get the sun I need. The Underland is a part of me and…" Gregor trailed off as Luxa shook her head, a sad smile on her face.

"You are so stupid," she said, touching his cheek. Her hand slid down Gregor's neck and rested on his shoulder. Gregor felt panicked and ready to cry. His heart pounded in his chest as he desperately tried to think of a way to stay with Luxa. But she was right. It was stupid. He was a teenager. Was he really going to complicate or throw away his life for a teenage romance?

Luxa managed a weak smile. Gregor could not think of how he could leave her. He reached out and gently pulled her toward him. He felt her do the same. They leaned close, and kissed. In that moment, Gregor's heart was both over joyed and ached terribly. He wanted to continue kissing Luxa, to continue feeling her so close to him, but he also wanted his heart to stop hurting. They separated, they're foreheads resting on each other.

They sat there for a few minutes, not saying anything. Gregor just wanted to be close to Luxa. He tried to think clearly, but the only thoughts that came to him revolved around finding a way to keep seeing her.

"I can't do it," he finally said. "I can't do it."

"You must to return to the Overland." Luxa pushed away gently. "You cannot give up your life-"

"Give up my life?" Gregor asked. "You say I can't give up my life, but I have a life down here. You want me to give that up."

"That is different, and you know it." She was right again.

"But what if…" Gregor watched Luxa shake her head slowly, but he would not be stopped now. "What if, in five or ten years, we look back and regret all of this?"

"Then we live with it," she said firmly.

"You know I won't let you do that." Luxa gave a quick laugh.

"You will have no choice."

"Yes I will. And so will you," Gregor said. His heart beat with excitement now. "I get it. We are stupid teenagers. We can't just give up our lives now, we're too young to make that decision. But we're also too young to make the decision never to seen each other again. Even just as friends."

"Gregor, we-"

"My mom always said," Gregor continued, "that if you care about someone, you won't mind waiting. We can wait. We'll both live our lives like normal. I'll finish college. You'll be an amazing queen." Luxa could not keep a smile from her face. "You'll meet suitors and move on with your life, and I'll try to do the same."

"Then," Gregor could feel hope welling inside him. "Then, in five years, I'll come back. I'll come back and see you. And if we've moved on, if we're happy then we can just continue on with our lives separately. But," he smiled. "If we still feel like this. If we still want to see each other, then we can figure out a way to make it work."

Luxa smiled at him, her head tilted slightly to the side. She looked almost amused.

"For this to work, we must both try our hardest to have good lives without each other," Luxa said. "And you must attempt to find a partner who is not me."

"Of course," Gregor replied. "And you'll meet with suitors. I'll find a career I like, and you'll be the greatest queen Regalia has ever seen."

"We will both try to have the best lives we can?" Luxa asked. "Then we will see if still wish to… to be together?"

"Yes," Gregor said, smiling. Luxa smiled back. She pulled him in, and kissed him again.

"Then I hope you have the most wonderful five years," Luxa said. "And then I hope you think I am more wonderful."

"I have a feeling I will."


	38. Chapter 38

38

Gregor road on Hippolyta through the large, dark tunnel. He wished they could twist and loop around, but his side still hurt too much for that. Not to mention, Howard would probably kill him if he ripped his stitches open. Instead, Gregor contented himself with being able to fly with Hipp.

He looked to his left and watched Luxa as she road Aurora. They had said their goodbyes already, and of course Gregor would have to make two more visits to check on his wounds, so there was not much sadness as they traveled to the hole leading up to the Overland. Luxa nodded to him, then Aurora twisted and looped over to Gregor's right side. Gregor gave them a dirty look for rubbing it in that he and Hipp could not do that, and he knew Hippolyta had said something to Aurora because the golden bat laughed. Luxa just gave a superior smile.

Though Gregor was handling the parting well, his cousin was not. She forced smiles, but Wynnora still looked sad. She leaned back on Howard as they road Nike, running her fingers through the flier's fur. Gregor had told her that she could come with him on his two visits, but he could tell she was only pretending that made her feel better.

The group took its time to get back to the exit. Normally they would have made the trip in one go, but this time they made sure to stop for a break. After all, it was safe now with the war over. Gregor was glad there was no talk of the war or peace negotiations. They all just sat around and talked as if they were on a picnic. They joked and recalled the fun memories they had together. Luxa invited Gregor's family, who had returned to the Overland a few days earlier, to come back to Regalia with him.

The trip felt relaxed and comforting, though a little strange. After years of getting mixed up in wars and conflicts, Luxa inviting Gregor's family over for a visit felt completely extraordinary. He felt like maybe he should ask her over for Christmas dinner. Though something like that was absolutely crazy, he really wished he could. He liked the idea of his Overland and Underland families mixing.

Still, he and Luxa agreed not to try, so there was no chance of mixing. At least, not now. They would live their lives separately, and not attempt to see each other. In fact they would see other people. Gregor knew he would try, but he really could not imagine a girl better than Luxa. She was a queen after all, and could kick some serious butt then turn right around and tease Gregor. Being away from her was not going to be easy (especially with the thought of her seeing other guys), but he knew the wait would be worth it in the end if they could both make an intelligent decision about what they wanted.

When they finally landed at the base of the exit, there was a brief moment of awkward silence. No one was sure how to say goodbye. Wynnora finally broke the silence by stepping forward and hugging Luxa.

"Sorry. I know you don't want a hug," she said. "But I'm not missing my chance to hug you." Luxa looked startled, and Gregor stifled a laugh. He saw Howard cover a laugh too. The queen quickly composed herself, and gave a small laugh before returning the hug. Wynnora stepped back. "Sorry again. That was weird."

"The gesture is appreciated," Luxa replied, looking amused. "I hope to see you again." Wynnora just nodded, then walked over to say goodbye to the fliers. She buried her face in Nike's fir, and the flier brought her wing around her. Gregor turned to Howard.

"I have already told you the rules for your wound to heal properly," Howard said. "Please follow them."

"Of course," Gregor replied with a smile, holding of the leather bag that held the supplies he would need. "I'm all about following the rules." The Underland chuckled, and they hugged. Howard went to pry Wynnora off Nike.

"I do hope you are not joking, Gregor," Luxa said. "If you do not heal properly, I will be displeased, and have you locked away upon your return."

"Don't tempt me," Gregor said with a grin. Luxa shook her head.

"We agreed to remain separate."

"You're the one talking about keeping me here." Luxa shrugged.

"I suppose I must get used to not being able to give you orders. What a pity." They turned and looked at their cousins. Wynnora threw her arms around Howard's neck, and he held her tight. Gregor shifted uncomfortably when they did not let go right away. "It's just a hug," he told himself.

"I have a feeling they will make our plan more difficult," Luxa whispered, her face set in something between disgust and amusement. It reminded him of when Maggie would make a face at couples kissing on TV.

"What do you mean?" Gregor whispered back. Luxa nodded toward their cousins as if that explained everything. Wynnora finally let go of Howard, but he kept a hold of her hands.

"You will be returning with Gregor?" he asked.

"Um." Wynnora looked down at her hands. "I guess. I don't know. If I can think of a good reason, I will." Howard smiled at that. He raised Wynnora's hands to his lips, and kissed them.

"I am sure you will think of something," he said, his eyes twinkled in amusement. Wynnora's eyes went wide, and even in the darkness, Gregor could see her face turn red so fast he thought she might faint. His jaw dropped slightly, and Luxa elbowed him hard in the side. He bit his lip as pain shot through his side, and Luxa just covered her laugh instead of apologizing for hurting him. When he looked back up, Luxa appeared to be thinking. She looked pleased by something, but he had no idea what.

"You should go now," Luxa said finally. She nodded toward Hippolyta, who was already waiting with Wynnora. Gregor nodded.

"I'll see you soon," he replied, smiling at Luxa. He said his final goodbyes to Aurora and Nike, then an awkward one to Howard. At least the Underlander also look slightly embarrassed. Gregor climbed onto Hippolyta, and the flier spread her wings to ride the air currents up to the Overland. When they got out of ear shot, he turned to his cousin.

"So, you want to tell me what that was back there?" he asked.

"Nothing," Wynnora replied quickly. "Or maybe not. Do you think it was something? What if it was?" she sounded excited and scared. "It wasn't though." Gregor thought it was best not to push the subject. Hippolyta landed in the cave, and Wynnora immediately turned to hug the flier.

"Bye, Hipp. Thanks for keeping my cousin alive. I can't wait to see you again," she said. Wynnora stood up, smiled at Gregor, and walked a few steps away to give them from privacy. Gregor really did not need it though. He had already said goodbye, and was going to see her soon.

"Goodbye, Gregor. I will return when it is time for you to go back to Regalia," Hippolyta said.

"Thanks. Stay safe," Gregor replied, putting his hand on her wing.

"The war in over. The Underland is safe."

"Yeah, but there always seems to be trouble and things trying to kill you."

"This is true," Hippolyta admitted. "But I do not think we shall see any real trouble for some time." Gregor wanted to ask what she meant by that, because she looked like she knew something he did not. The flier back away though, and dropped down the hole again.

Gregor turned to his cousin, and they walked out of the cave. It was late evening, and the sky was turning dark with a few just a few stars showing up.

"I can't believe we won't be going back down in just a couple months," Wynnora said.

"Pretty crazy." Gregor mumbled.

"Are you really going to stay away forever?" Gregor could not keep from smiling to himself, which his cousin obviously noticed. "I'll take that as a no."

"Don't worry," Gregor said. "I have a plan."


End file.
